20-659: The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) is an organisation tasked with research and dissemination of information on biodiversity, and legally mandated to contribute to the management of the country's biodiversity resources. It was established in 2004 in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, No 10 of 2004 , under the South African Department of Environmental Affairs (later named Department of Forestry, Fisheries and
40-600: A National Assembly and a National Council of Provinces . The current twenty-eighth Parliament was first convened on 14 June 2024. From 1910 to 1994, members of Parliament were elected chiefly by the South African white minority . The first elections with universal suffrage were held in 1994 . The President , Deputy President and the Ministers of the South African Government make up
60-532: A fixed term. South Africa's government differs from those of other Commonwealth nations. The national, provincial and local levels of government all have legislative and executive authority in their own spheres, and are defined in the South African Constitution as "distinctive, interdependent and interrelated". Operating at both national and provincial levels ("domes") are advisory bodies drawn from South Africa's traditional leaders. It
80-399: A system of mixed-member proportional representation , while the councils of district municipalities are partly elected by proportional representation and partly appointed by the councils of the constituent local municipalities. In each legislative body, the party or coalition of parties holding a majority of seats forms the government. The largest party not in the government is recognised as
100-743: Is a stated intention in the Constitution that the country be run on a system of cooperative governance. The national government is composed of three inter-connected branches; the legislature (parliament, consisting of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces ), the executive (the President , who is both Head of State and Head of Government ), and the judiciary (the Constitutional Court ,
120-483: Is intended to inform climate change policy development and decision making. SANBI is legally mandated to contribute to the management of the country's biodiversity resources. The Institute hosts the Red List of South African Plants , a database with descriptions of the country's indigenous plants and their national conservation status. SANBI also maintains the website PlantZAfrica , which contains over 1,850 Plant of
140-586: The Republic of South Africa , a parliamentary republic with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary , operating in a parliamentary system . Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa . Executive authority is vested in the President of South Africa who is head of state and head of government, and his Cabinet. The President is elected by the Parliament to serve
160-719: The Supreme Court of Appeal , and the High Court ). All bodies of the South African Government are subject to the rule of the Constitution, which is the supreme law in South Africa. The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa 's legislature . It is located in Cape Town , the country's legislative capital . Under the present Constitution of South Africa , the bicameral Parliament comprises
180-485: The executive branch of the national government. Ministers are Members of Parliament who are appointed by the President to head the various departments of the national government . The president is elected by parliament from its members. The third branch of the national government is an independent judiciary. The judicial branch interprets the laws, using as a basis the laws as enacted and explanatory statements made in
200-531: The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment are: This article about South African government is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about an environmental agency is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Government of South Africa The Government of South Africa , or South African Government , is the national government of
220-671: The Environment The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) is one of the departments of the South African government . It is responsible for protecting, conserving and improving the South African environment and natural resources . It was created in 2019 by the merger of the Department of Environmental Affairs with the forestry and fisheries components of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries . The branches of
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#1732765143917240-699: The Environment ). SANBI was established on 1 September 2004 in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, No 10 of 2004. Previously, in 1989, the autonomous statutory National Botanical Institute (NBI) had been formed from the National Botanic Gardens and the Botanical Research Institute, which had been founded in the early 20th century to study and conserve the South African flora. The mandate of
260-495: The Legislature during the enactment. The legal system is based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law and accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations. The constitution's bill of rights provides for due process including the right to a fair , public trial within a reasonable time. The nine provinces of South Africa are governed by provincial governments which form the second layer of government, between
280-952: The National Botanical Institute was expanded by the act to include the full diversity of the South African ecosystems. The NBI had its head office at Kirstenbosch in Cape Town, and gardens and research centres throughout South Africa. Functions include providing knowledge, information, policy support and advice, managing botanical gardens for research, education and public enjoyment, and engaging in ecosystem restoration and rehabilitation programmes and providing models of best practice for biodiversity management. Core activities include research into conservation and sustainable use, garden development and horticulture, education and provision of biodiversity information systems, ecosystems rehabilitation and development of bioregional planning programmes and policies. SANBI contributes to
300-473: The Week articles, with two new Plant of the Week articles added every week. The site also contains some basic information on the vegetation of SA and related topics. Content is developed by the horticultural and scientific staff of SANBI to provide easy access to popular information. SANBI conducts nationwide biodiversity conservation assessments of various classes of animals, which generally involve field trips for
320-696: The collection of data. Interested members of the public can participate in several citizen science projects. A biodiversity knowledge and information management system is provided which integrates existing information resources for easy access for both internal and external end-users. Since 2014 Ronell Renett Klopper is the coordinator for the South African National Plant Checklist in the Fundamental Biodiversity Sciences Division of SANBI. Department of Forestry, Fisheries and
340-428: The legislature in turn elects one of its members as Premier to head the executive. The Premier appoints an Executive Council (a cabinet), consisting of members of the legislature, to administer the various departments of the provincial administration. Local government in South Africa consists of municipalities of various types. The largest metropolitan areas are governed by metropolitan municipalities , while
360-499: The national government and the municipalities . The provincial governments are established, and their structure defined, by Chapter Six of the Constitution of South Africa . The provincial governments are structured according to a parliamentary system in which the executive is dependent on and accountable to the legislature. In each province the provincial legislature is directly elected by proportional representation , and
380-406: The reduction of poverty by providing training and creating sustainable employment in programmes for rehabilitating ecosystems, and programmes to encourage participation in biodiversity science at school level and to strengthen the quality of biodiversity teaching and learning. Research is a primary component of SANBI's agenda, and includes research into climate change and bio-adaptation. The research
400-434: The rest of the country is divided into district municipalities , each of which consists of several local municipalities . After the municipal election of 18 May 2011 there were eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district municipalities and 226 local municipalities. Municipalities are governed by municipal councils which are elected every five years. The councils of metropolitan and local municipalities are elected by
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