UNESCO supports landmark airborne and field biodiversity mapping in South Africa

In a landmark initiative to advance biodiversity science and conservation, UNESCO has supported the Biodiversity Survey of the Cape (BioSCape), a pioneering research project that combines advanced airborne technology with on-the-ground scientific fieldwork to study biodiversity in South Africa’s Greater Cape Floristic Region, one of the world’s most ecologically rich regions.

Despite covering less than 0.5 per cent of Africa’s land area, the Greater Cape Floristic Region is home to nearly 20 per cent of the continent’s plant species. Its exceptional diversity and endemism place it among the richest floral regions in the world. The area includes three UNESCO World Heritage sites and five Biosphere Reserves, underscoring its ecological and cultural importance. With its unique biodiversity, the region offered a valuable opportunity to apply and test remote sensing technologies to advance environmental monitoring.

In an international collaborative effort involving over 150 scientists from research institutions and government agencies in South Africa and the United States, funded by UNESCO, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Research Foundation of South Africa, BioSCape marked an important step in advancing biodiversity monitoring by combining advanced remote sensing technology with extensive fieldwork.

To explore the vast and complex landscape of the Greater Cape Floristic Region, BioSCape used specialized NASA and South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) aircraft equipped with advanced scanning instruments that employ imaging spectroscopy to detect fine details about plant health, water systems, and habitat types - all from the air.

On the ground, mostly in the Cape Floral Region Protected Areas World Heritage site, scientists gathered samples of plants, soil, and water, recorded sounds from wildlife, and even collected environmental DNA. This fieldwork was essential for cross-checking and enhancing the data collected from the skies, creating one of the most detailed pictures of biodiversity ever captured in the region.

“This combined airborne and field-based approach is generating one of the most detailed biodiversity maps ever created for the region, with a focus on how ecosystems function and respond to global change.”

Jasper Slingsby, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Cape Town and SAEON research associate

© Jeremy Shelton / Fishwater Films

With the support from the Government of the Netherlands, UNESCO’s contributions to BioSCape focused on data collection, capacity building, and awareness raising. This included facilitating a four-month research exchange for a South African doctoral student from the University of Cape Town, Mr. Simcelile Chenge, at NASA’s Earth Science Project Office (ESPO) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Spectroscopy Lab, one of the world’s leading remote sensing laboratories. More about the BioSCape project and Mr. Chenge’s testimony on his experience as part of the team can be viewed in the video below.

© UNESCO

"I would like to thank UNESCO for providing me with the invaluable opportunity to gain first-hand exposure to leading experts in the field of spectroscopy."

Simcelile Chenge, PhD student at the University of Cape Town

The findings from the campaign supported by UNESCO are expected to strengthen management strategies for protected areas across the region, and the methods developed should aid global biodiversity monitoring. This is particularly relevant as many World Heritage properties seek to enhance their monitoring capacities by leveraging remote sensing and Earth observation technologies to better anticipate and mitigate risks to their Outstanding Universal Value.

All data collected and generated throughout BioSCape are freely available to scientists and policymakers worldwide, strengthening global efforts to safeguard biodiversity and natural heritage. More information about BioSCape can be found at the dedicated website.