As the smallest, yet richest of the world's six floral kingdoms, the sustained conservation of the Cape Floral Kingdom (or fynbos) is of critical global significance. A phenomenal 9 000 plant species make up this kingdom, 6 000 of which are found nowhere else on Earth.

Committed to conserving the fynbos ecoregion and its adjacent shores, WWF-SA played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Cape Action Plan for People and the Environment (CAPE) and will contribute to the implementation of this conservation plan largely through activities supported by the Table Mountain Fund.

The objective of both TMF and CAPE is to secure the conservation of the biodiversity of the Cape Floral Kingdom and through this to deliver sustainable economic benefits to the people of the region. The opportunity exists in the CFR to create the conditions for the emergence of a new type of conservation management with an ability to integrate biodiversity conservation with social challenges.

A step in this direction is a recently initiated TMF capacity building programme with funding from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF). The main focus of the programme will be building capacity among women and people of colour who have the potential to become future conservation leaders. 'For conservation efforts to be more successful,' says Rodney February, manager of the capacity building programme, 'it is essential that the country have previously disadvantaged role models in conservation leadership positions. Only if this is achieved will conservation be seen as the collective responsibility of all South Africans.'

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