After ten informative sessions exploring South Africa’s flagship biodiversity assessment, the National Biodiversity Assessment (NBA) 2025 Webinar Series concludes with a final webinar that reflects on the journey so far and looks ahead to the future of biodiversity assessment in South Africa.
The tenth and final webinar in the series, “Recaps and Looking to the Future”, will provide participants with an opportunity to revisit key messages from the webinar series, learn more about the innovative tools and resources that underpin NBA 2025, and explore how stakeholders can contribute to future biodiversity assessments.
Since its launch, NBA 2025 has showcased the collective efforts of more than 490 contributors from approximately 110 institutions who worked together over six years to produce South Africa’s most comprehensive assessment of biodiversity and ecosystems. The assessment covers terrestrial, freshwater, estuarine, marine and coastal ecosystems, species assessments across multiple taxonomic groups, and, for the first time, emerging indicators of genetic diversity.
Wetlands-assessment. Pic: Tsamaelo Malebu
The webinar will provide a brief overview of the National Biodiversity Assessment and recap some of the major themes covered throughout the series. Participants will also be guided through the NBA 2025 website, learning how to access key information, navigate assessment results, locate headline indicators, and make use of the growing collection of biodiversity resources available online.
In addition, the session will highlight several innovations introduced in NBA 2025, including the use of modern data science tools and web-based platforms that improve transparency, repeatability and accessibility. Attendees will also learn how to access underlying biodiversity datasets through SANBI’s Biodiversity GIS (BGIS) platform and how these resources can support research, planning and decision-making.
As the NBA 2025 webinar series draws to a close, the webinar will also look ahead to the next assessment cycle. Although the scope and timing of future assessments are still being determined, work has already begun on gathering new data, strengthening biodiversity monitoring systems and identifying research priorities that will contribute to future assessments and national reporting processes.
The final webinar offers an opportunity for researchers, conservation practitioners, policymakers, students and members of the public to reflect on the achievements of NBA 2025 and learn how they can continue contributing to biodiversity knowledge and conservation in South Africa.
Webinar Details
Title: Recaps and Looking to the Future
Date: Friday, 19 June 2026
Time: 13:00 – 13:45
Platform: Microsoft Teams
Join the webinar here
As we conclude the NBA 2025 Webinar Series, we invite you to join us for this final session as we reflect on the insights gained throughout the series and explore the next chapter in South Africa’s biodiversity assessment journey.
Facts Only
* The webinar series concluded with a final session titled “Recaps and Looking to the Future.”
* This final session was scheduled for Friday, June 19, 2026, from 13:00 to 13:45 via Microsoft Teams.
* NBA 2025 involved more than 490 contributors from approximately 110 institutions over six years.
* The assessment covered terrestrial, freshwater, estuarine, marine, and coastal ecosystems, species across multiple taxonomic groups, and emerging indicators of genetic diversity.
* Participants will review key messages from the webinar series and learn about NBA 2025 tools and resources.
* Attendees will be guided on accessing information, navigating results, and using online biodiversity resources.
* Innovations in NBA 2025 included modern data science tools and web-based platforms for transparency and accessibility.
* Underlying biodiversity datasets are accessible through SANBI’s Biodiversity GIS (BGIS) platform.
* Work has begun on gathering new data and strengthening biodiversity monitoring systems for future assessments.
Executive Summary
The final webinar of the National Biodiversity Assessment (NBA) 2025 Webinar Series, titled “Recaps and Looking to the Future,” is scheduled for Friday, June 19, 2026, from 13:00 to 13:45 on Microsoft Teams. The session aims to review key messages from the ten previous webinars, explain the innovative tools underpinning NBA 2025, and discuss stakeholder contributions to future biodiversity assessments in South Africa.
The NBA 2025 involved over 490 contributors from approximately 110 institutions collaborating over six years to produce a comprehensive assessment covering terrestrial, freshwater, estuarine, marine, and coastal ecosystems, species across multiple taxonomic groups, and emerging genetic diversity indicators. Participants will receive an overview of the assessment, guidance on accessing NBA 2025 resources online, and information about innovations like data science tools and web platforms for improved transparency. Furthermore, attendees will learn how to access underlying biodiversity datasets via SANBI’s Biodiversity GIS (BGIS) platform to support research and planning.
The session concludes by looking toward future assessment cycles, noting that work is already underway to gather new data, strengthen monitoring systems, and identify research priorities for future national reporting processes. The event serves as an opportunity for researchers, policymakers, students, and the public to reflect on the achievements of NBA 2025 and explore ongoing contributions to biodiversity knowledge and conservation in South Africa.
Full Take
The structure of the event frames a transition from retrospective achievement to prospective action, positioning the NBA 2025 not as a static report but as an active foundation for ongoing scientific and policy work. The focus shifts from the massive data collection accomplished—involving hundreds of institutions and diverse ecosystems—to the utility of the resulting framework and the mechanism for future engagement. This pattern suggests an implicit argument that comprehensive assessment is merely the initial step toward sustained, participatory governance.
The emphasis on accessible tools (BGIS, web platforms) and modern methodologies (data science) functions as a subtle assertion that scientific complexity can be democratized. The introduction of these innovative methods and data repositories implies a commitment to repeatability and accessibility, suggesting an underlying pattern against opacity in large-scale environmental reporting. The forward-looking element—acknowledging that future scope is TBD but work on new data collection has started—suggests resilience in the face of ongoing systemic complexity rather than finality.
The implied tension lies between the achievement narrative (what was done) and the call for continued participation (what must be done next). The success of the series relies on maintaining the bridge between high-level scientific outputs and actionable input from various stakeholders. The unstated implication is that the capacity for effective biodiversity assessment rests not just in the data produced, but in the collaborative systems established around interpreting and applying that data moving forward.
Bridge Questions: What specific mechanisms are required to ensure the innovations introduced in NBA 2025 are integrated into ongoing national policy cycles? How can the process of identifying future research priorities be structured to equally incorporate input from all stakeholder groups, not just those engaged directly in the initial assessment? What are the risks associated with relying on evolving data streams for long-term conservation planning?
Sentinel — Human
The text reads like an official announcement or summary of a structured academic/policy event, exhibiting a clear, objective informational tone typical of institutional communication.