Deputy Minister Narend Singh: National Gardens Week

Representative of the Embassy of Japan; Mr Kei Ando
SANBI Board members
CEO of SANBI, Shonisani Munzhedzi;
Partners from the BirdLife South Africa, City of Tshwane, Freedom Park
Colleagues from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment;
Members of the media;
Learners and teachers; 

It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to the National Zoological Garden (NZG) for the launch of National Gardens Week 2026 which runs from 9 – 13 March 2026. The NZG is part of a network of national botanical and zoological gardens run by the South African National Biodiversity Institute.

 The NZG is home to over 4,700 animals including amphibians, fish, reptiles, invertebrates, and mammals. It has four of the big five, that is lion, rhino, buffalo, and leopard. Fifteen percent of the species housed at the zoo are classified as threatened and therefore NZG plays an important role in both ex-situ conservation, preserving species outside their natural habitats.

 Ladies and gentlemen, if we are to build a society that values and protects nature, we must begin with our children. It is much easier to teach children than to teach “an old dog new tricks”. We must teach our children to understand that conservation is not separate from their lives. It affects the water they drink, the food they eat, the air they breathe, and the opportunities available to them in the future.

Creating awareness among young people about the importance of protecting our natural heritage and our national gardens is one of the most powerful investments we can make. When children grow up appreciating nature, they grow up prepared to defend it, innovate around it, and build careers within the green and biodiversity economy.

To our educators, we thank you for shaping environmentally conscious citizens and for nurturing curiosity about the natural world. Your role in guiding young minds toward sustainability is invaluable.

Distinguished guests, SANBI’s network of National Botanical and Zoological Gardens, provide tourism infrastructure, conservation estate, and interpretation section that aims to make the gardens ‘come alive’ to visitors. National gardens contribute to the socio-economic objectives of government through conservation, tourism, education, research and recreation.

South Africa ranks as the third most mega-biodiverse country in the world, recognised for its high levels of endemism and home to over 95,000 known species. National gardens belong to all South Africans and National Gardens Week facilitates open access to the whole of society to experience and learn about the rich biodiversity showcased in these spaces.

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m proud to announce that from 9 to 13 March 2026, all national gardens, spread across 8 provinces of South Africa, are open to the public free of charge. The National Zoological Garden (NZG), like all national botanical and zoological gardens run by the South African National Biodiversity Institute across the country, give South Africans an opportunity to enjoy green, open spaces and the learn about the conservation programmes undertaken at these facilities. In addition to the tourism and recreation, national gardens serve an important function related to biodiversity education and research.

A centre for research

Ladies and gentlemen, national gardens house state of the art biodiversity research facilities which enables critical foundational research that informs policy and conservation programmes in action. This facility – NZG - houses the biggest bio tissue bank on the continent and has Africa’s most sophisticated genetic and DNA research facility. Other facilities including the National Herbarium in Pretoria house the largest collection of plant specimens which document the changes in biodiversity over centuries.

Biodiversity Education

National gardens are an important space for biodiversity education with over 200 000 learners participating in biodiversity education programmes across all gardens annually. Biodiversity education is an essential intervention. The conservation and protection of South Africa’s biodiversity is among others dependent on a society which is well-informed about the importance of nature and our collective responsibility for its protection. 

Infrastructure development and repositioning strategy

Honourable guests, the NZG is 126 years old while the other gardens in SANBI portfolio range from 50 to over 110 years of age. SANBI is currently implementing a comprehensive repositioning strategy for all which is aimed at modernising the facilities, strengthening its conservation impact, enhancing visitor experience, and improving long-term financial sustainability.

For the NZG, the repositioning strategy is supported through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiative, which is formally registered with National Treasury and is currently at feasibility stage. The feasibility phase was approved by the SANBI Board for further submission to National Treasury, marking an important milestone in ensuring that the repositioning of the Zoo is undertaken in a structured, compliant, and sustainable manner. The public private partnership (PPP) will address some areas including the cable car, modernisation of enclosures new gate and restaurants.

 Partnership possibilities

I call for the business community to partner with us in conservation of the national botanical and zoological gardens. For example, the vulture conservation programme. Since, 1996, the NZG has been at the forefront of breeding Cape Vultures and has partnered with Vulpro in the release of these species back into the wild. The plan for the programme is to recover these populations to acceptable levels by 2033,  and we need partners to reinforce the concerted, collaborative, and coordinated international efforts to achieve these goals 

 We also involved in the conservation breeding, one health and veterinary science programs and  zoological research required for the conservation of other species and we call upon the corporate sector to partner with us in this endeavour.

 In addition, NZG has a breeding programme for the endangered Sungazer lizards. With five successful births since 2020, the NZG remains one of the few facilities in the world that has successfully bred this species in controlled environments. The NZG hopes that by sharing research and husbandry techniques, the establishment of a protected conservation area will become a reality in the near future.

 Our infrastructure programmes will require the support of companies in the construction sector. We have kilometres of pathways and various other infrastructure related project that need urgent attention. We call on the provide sector to join hands with us to improve these facilities. 

 As you can see, the education programme here is robust but there is room to do more. We would like to have more school children from townships and surrounding area and beyond visiting our facilities and developing their biodiversity knowledge. We call on the corporate sector to support our education programme through their CSI projects and take advantage of this investment to bolster their contribution to ESG.

In conclusion, biodiversity conservation is a responsibility of everyone in society. I would like to thank the partners gathered here for their continued support. I call on everyone in society from the public and private sector, academic institutions and civil society to continue to collaborate with SANBI to ensure that South Africa’s biodiversity is conserved for future generations and for the benefit of all. 

Thank you.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Zolile Nqayi 
Cell: 082 898 6483 
E-mail: znqayi@dffe.go.za

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