biological sciences 5
B I O L O G I C A L S C I E N C E S
invasion biology and biodiversity manage- try, aquaculture and livestock) has shrunk
ment. The appointment of the ‘Cape Con- to a minor part of the aggregate economy,
servator of Forests’, following the disastrous it remains the main economic activity over
fires of the 1850s, placed conservation most of the land mass, the largest water
onto a scientific path. The game reserves user and a vital source of rural employ-
proclaimed in Zululand in the 1880s, and ment. Several universities have faculties of
the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek in the 1890s agriculture, the ARC has research facilities
are among the oldest in the world. A nota- in all the major agroclimatic zones, and
ble feature of biodiversity conservation in there is significant private sector research
South Africa is the unusually tight coupling involvement. Classical breeding techniques
between science and management, which led to strength in several areas of crop and
has had the spinoff of making the protected livestock genetics, from subtropical fruit
areas of South Africa an important research through traditional African cattle to ostrich-
facility for both local and international sci- es. Recent biotechnological approaches
entists. A recent feature has been the mas- have been responsibly embraced, with ar-
sive expansion of privately-owned conser- eas of expertise particularly in hybrid euca-
vation lands, to the point where nearly a lypts and the genetic modification of grains
fifth of the landscape is under some form of to enhance their nutritional value. There is
biodiversity-based land use, of which only a particular strength in seed physiology,
a third is in state-owned protected areas. and another in insect physiology. A key
The demand for conservation planning and ecophysiological issue has been water use,
management services has stimulated lead- particularly by plantations of fast-growing
ing centres of expertise in the fields of wild- trees. Many years of research, now located
life veterinary science, community-based in the CSIR and funded by the Water Re-
natural resource management, spatial con- search Commission (WRC), overturned the
servation planning, coastal resources man- prevailing global wisdom that forests in-
agement, ecosystem service assessment creased the quality and quantity of stream
and the adaptation of biodiversity to global flow, leading among other things to an in-
change, among others. Several universi- novative set of water laws, and policies that
ties, the Council for Scientific and Industrial target the elimination of invasive alien trees
Research (CSIR), the branch of Marine and as a simultaneous water conservation and
Coastal Management (MCM) of the Depart- poverty-relief activity.
ment of Environment Affairs, the South
African National Parks Board and several The final branch of biology we wish to
provincial parks agencies are the key insti- highlight is intertwined with medical sci-
tutions in these fields. ence. Their close association is perhaps
not surprising, given that many prominent
A third branch of the biological sciences figures in South African biology originally
supports agriculture, forestry and related trained as medical doctors, The steady
fields. While agriculture in the broad sense support for biological research from the
(including crops, horticulture, forestry, poul- Medical Research Council (MRC) is another
135
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