Securing components of South Africa’s biodiversity Paul Bartels South Africa GGBN - User Cases GGBN Meeting Copenhagen 6-8 July 2012

Collections Audit* Under staffed Under resourced Quality deteriation Natural History Museums in SA Bioinformatics / Specimen DB** Out-dated databases Skills, under resourced Migration to Access….. Specify6 *Collecting now to preserve the Future. Francis Gerard et al. (Unpublished Audit Report) **A New Era for Specimen DB’s & Biodiversity Information Management in SA. Willem Coetzer et al. Biodiv. Infomatics 8, 2012 ‘Their Value as a National / Global Asset, is clearly not understood’

We have untapped wealth in our bio- resources Healthcare, conservation, environment & biotechnology development Secure it: - Derive benefit for society - Maximise its use Situational Analysis - Comments

Animal Species Richness Species of Special Concern Birds - 94Mammals - 79Frogs - 21 Scorpions - 42Butterflies - 111Scarabs - 125

Wildlife Domestic Animal Human Translocation Human encroachment Ex situ contact Ecological manipulation Global travel Urbanization Biomedical manipulation Technology and Industry Agricultural Intensification Encroachment Introduction “Spill over” & “Spill back” Emerging Infectious Diseases Dasazak P. et.al. Science :443

Biorepositories pivotal to: Healthcare Environment Conservation Biotechnology

You are Here……. and we are Here….

Biological Resource Bank Unique Collection: Cell cultures (live) BRC’s Sperm & Embryo bank (live) DNA bank DNA Barcode of Life bank (BOL) Tissue bank Blood bank, Serum bank Pathology tissue bank Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB) Museum sample specimens Databank – Knowledge Bank New banks – Recalcitrant seeds; stem cells

CRYO-PRESERVATION Feeder tank and storage tanks at wBRC

Monitor Fridge, Freezer and Power supply

Capacity Building / Networking …

Facilitate collecting Customized sampling kits Quick Reference sheet Field sampling manual Training manual Training courses

.. Semen collection

Ownership / ABS National, Regional and Global concern CBD, Nagoya Protocol Workshops – 2002 / 2006 Policy: owner / custodian of animal is biomaterial “legal entity”, National Laws & Regulations: Biodiversity Act in RSA

Banked Specimens in SA 2012 Total: * 1,000spp 1,000+ owners *Includes Ditsong Museum specimens Total BioBankSA consortium members: Estimate just short of samples

User Case List Part of Museum Science Collections – Biobank Biorepository Pts 1 – 5, as for Museum genetic requests Pts 6 – 9, as for National and Provincial authorities Pts 10 – 15, as for biorepository management

Infrastructure Plan BioBankSA campus (NECSA): 500 sqm, 20 rooms

Way Forward BioBankSA Central Node: Part of Museum Science Collections – Biomaterials *NRF Audit of Natural History Collections Part of DST new initiative on Integrated Biorepositories: Human tissue, Animal tissue, Microbes, Plants National, Regional and Global Issues Central Biomaterials Bank (pick-up orphan collections) Knowledge Sharing / Transfer (Plant/Animal/Human/Microbes) Post-grad training, Knowledge Generation, Human Capital Dev; Infrastructure Dev.

Zoo & Aquaria UCT NDA CMO: Knowledge Hub NBN ARC OVI SAIAB SAEON DEAT NZG Marine Coastal SANParks TAURUS MUSEUMS MICROBES JHB Zoo Sea World Aquaria Etc. Universities UWC WITS TUT UJ Etc. NGO’s EWT WWF BirdLife Wildlife Society Provinces DACE Cape Nature NW Parks Etc. AHEAD PPF Etc… NODES BioBankSA National Structures Open Forum Private All others PrivateAll Others SANBI Build on existing structures Growth - radiate outwards Managed Distributed Network …………… …………… …………… …………… ………….... ………………………… ………………………… Model Regional Structures In Africa Countries In Africa Global Lion Park Etc Platforms: CBS