A considerable amount of work, time and investment is needed for the recovery of freshwater fish, amphibian, bird, mammal and plant species which are on the brink of extinction or vulnerable and endangered in South Africa.

From the tiny squeaking desert rain frog on the Namaqualand coast of South Africa to the little freshwater Twee River redfin endemic to the eastern Cederberg part of the Olifants River System, some species in South Africa are in crisis and guarding against their extinction is an expensive, time-consuming process.

Over the next five years, investments exceeding R1-billion are needed to recover species that are on the brink of extinction and under threat in South Africa, according to cost estimates based on Red List assessments done by the South Africa National Biodiversity Institute (Sanbi) and its partners.

This was revealed at the South African satellite event of Reverse the Red's World Species Congress last week, where speakers from national conservation and biodiversity organisations, NPOs, public sector and special interest groups came together to take stock of the status of species conservation in South Africa.

Under the spotlight was the work that's being done to save species on the brink of extinction and address species conservation challenges that remain unmet.

Conservation efforts are being undertaken in South Africa through landscape and seascape conservation initiatives.

But Domitilla Raimondo, the threatened species programme manager at Sanbi, asked: "What happens when those efforts are...