Gideon Smith

South African National Biodiversity Institute

SANBI is a comapny that manages the 9 national botanical gardens in the country and it monitors and reports to the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs on the status of the country's biodiversity, the conservation status of all listed threatened or protected species and listed ecosystems; and the status of all invasive species. The company also acts as an advisory and consultative body on matters relating to biodiversity to organs of state and other biodiversity stakeholders. In addition to other responsibilities and functions, SANBI must coordinate programmes to involves civil society in the conservation and sustainable use of indigenous resources; and the rehabilitation of ecosystems