South Africa has about five times more reptile species than would be expected for a country of its size, and many of them are endemic (found only here). But scientists know very little about their conservation status and they are increasingly under threat from development, climate change and collectors.
In mid-May steps were taken to rectify this situation with the launch of a four-year assessment programme called the Southern African Reptile Conservation Assessment, or SARCA.
Funded and developed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), the project will be driven by experts from South African universities, museums, conservation agencies and the Herpetological Association of Africa.
Kristal Maze, SANBI’s director of biodiversity, policy and planning, said South Africa has an extremely rich reptile fauna — with more than 360 species from 22 families. It has the third highest number of lizard species in the world, after Australia and Mexico.
‘SARCA is essential for identifying priorities for conservation action, which are likely to include regulation of collection for the pet trade and minimising habitat loss,” Maze said.
Professor Graham Alexander, a prominent reptile researcher at Wits University and editor of African Journal of Herpetology, pointed out that the last time any attempt was made to record the distribution of South Africa’s reptiles in a coordinated way was 16 years ago.
‘Many new species have since been discovered and there is an extreme shortage of information on these and several other species that are most in need of conservation management. It is clear a new conservation assessment is critical for the conservation of reptiles,” he said.
Reptiles include turtles, tortoises, lizards, snakes and crocodiles. This varied group has an important impact on ecosystems — most reptiles are predators, which can help to control the populations of pest species such as rats, mice, mosquitoes, flies and termites.
The Avian Demography Unit (ADU) at the University of Cape Town will coordinate the project, which involves gathering thousands of records of reptile sightings from all over South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. The ADU has previously successfully atlased the birds and frogs of Southern Africa.
You too can help
Members of the public can participate in SARCA by taking digital photographs of wild reptiles and submitting them to the project, together with accurate locality information. Photos that are good enough to allow identification of the species will become part of a ‘virtual museum collection” of photographic specimens, available for inspection on the project’s website.
For details on how to participate, visit the project website at www.saherps.net or contact James Harrison at [email protected] or (021) 650 2564