How CapeNature and partners "Reverse the Red"

Reverse the Red is “a global coalition of conservation organisations and species experts working together to accelerate action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss” and every year, 7 February marks Reverse the Red day. The term stems from the effort conservations make to try and reduce the number of species on the IUCN Red List.

This relatively lesser known but very important day highlights the conservation sector’s efforts to mitigate biodiversity loss, reverse the decline of species and restore the populations of species. One of the biggest threats that the planet faces is the loss of biodiversity, which can lead to the eventual collapse of ecosystems and the associated services that humans sometimes take for granted, like clean water, healthy soils and food security.

Recent trends point to an increase in biodiversity loss, for example, the African Penguin had it’s conservation status reclassified to Critically Endangered, which means that it is at an even higher chance of going extinct if no drastic actions are taken.

According to the 2025 State of Conservation Report released by CapeNature, 191 out of 350 ecosystems in the Western Cape are classified as Threatened with 16% of species classified as threatened.

As grim as that picture looks, we should also acknowledge that there is a lot of good work that is being done to address this, not just by CapeNature, but also by various conservations agencies, departments, organisations and partners. As the custodian of the province’s biodiversity, CapeNature has an important role to play through the production of plans (e.g. WCBSP, WCPAES), projects and collaborations with partners to fight against biodiversity loss.

One such collaboration is with the Grootvadersbosch Conservancy Trust (GVBCT), which was the recipient of the 2025 Reverse the Red Accelerator Award for their project on the Critically Endangered Tradouw redfin.

CapeNature and the GVBCT have a long history of collaborating on conservation interventions aimed at ensuring the long-term survival of the Tradouw redfin. This redfin is one of the most range restricted and threatened freshwater fish in the Cape region and the country. Through a collaborative effort, The GVB Conservancy, CapeNature and other partners are working on a Species Conservation Plan. The plan includes actions related to improving habitat for the species (e.g. alien plant clearing and optimising water use in the Tradouw catchment) and extensive monitoring efforts to determine population trends and inform conservation actions such as conservation translocations.”

There is still a lot that needs to be done in the fight for our planet, but all is not lost and it is not out of our hands. Actively supporting conservation efforts by any means and simple behavioural changes towards conservation can go a long way to help the plant and each other.