Intersection of Ecosystem Threat Status and Protection Level

Coastal zone

Linda R. Harris1 , Natasha Besseling2 , Kerry J. Sink2, 1 , Andrew L. Skowno2, 3 , Lara Van Niekerk4, 1

1. Nelson Mandela University

2. South African National Biodiversity Institute

3. University of Cape Town

4. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

Published

November 11, 2025

118
of 190 ecosystem types
Threatened and under-protected
68
of 190 ecosystem types
Highly threatened and under-protected

Coastal ecosystem types at highest risk of loss

Intersecting the results from the ecosystem threat status and protection level assessments identifies the ecosystem types that are threatened (Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable) and under-protected (Not Protected, Poorly Protected and Moderately Protected). Within this group, the ecosystem types that are are highest risk of loss are those that are highly threatened and under-protected (Critically Endangered or Endangered, and Not Protected or Poorly Protected).

There are 118 threatened coastal ecosystem types that are under-protected in South Africa (Table 1). This means that all but 16 of the 134 threatened coastal ecosystem types are currently under-protected.

Table 1. Cross-tabulation of coastal ecosystem threat status and ecosystem protection level, highlighting the threatened and under-protected types.
Not Protected Poorly Protected Moderately Protected Well Protected Total (n)
Critically Endangered 12 15 6 7 40
Endangered 7 34 12 3 56
Vulnerable 1 11 20 6 38
Near Threatened 1 4 4 2 11
Least Concern 6 11 10 18 45
Total (n) 27 75 52 36 190

Of these 118 ecosystem types, 68 are at the greatest risk of being lost because they are highly threatened and under-protected. These include 38 terrestrial, 7 estuarine and 23 marine ecosystem types (Table 1, Table 2) that urgently need improved conservation and management if their associated biodiversity and benefits are to be safeguarded into the future.

The highly threatened and under-protected ecosystem types are found all along the national coast, particularly around the Orange River mouth, in the Western Cape, between St Francis and Gqeberha, and in southern and central KwaZulu-Natal (Figure 1).

Figure 1. High-risk coastal ecosystem types that are highly threatened (CR = Critically Endangered or EN = Endangered) and highly under-protected (NP = Not Protected or PP = Poorly Protected).
Table 2. List of highly threatened and under-protected ecosystem types in South Africa’s coastal zone. CR = Critically Endangered, EN = Endangered, NP = Not Protected, PP = Poorly Protected. Type values in any of the search boxes to filter the list to rows of interest.

Technical documentation

Github repositories

Coastal synthesis: https://github.com/lrharris/nba2025_coast/

Data availability

The following datasets are available for download:

  1. Map of ecosystem threat status and protection level of South Africa’s coastal ecosystem types

References