Southern Africa has a rich diversity of species and ecosystems that support an equally diverse array of livelihoods. This biodiversity, however, is being threatened by the impacts of human beings on the environment. The physical destruction of biodiversity is being compounded at the policy and political level by policies and programmes that threaten the existence of biodiversity and the millions of human lives that dependent on it.

The biopolitics component of the Sustainable Development Programme of the HBS seeks to address those political issues that threaten biodiversity and biodiversity-based livelihoods. The programme deals with issues such as:

• Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) – we try to raise awareness amongst stakeholders and the general public about the potential hazards of GMOs and to assist our partners lobby efforts for appropriate regulation of GMOs;
• Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)  – we work with our partners to raise awareness of the potential of biodiversity to improve the lives of people particularly in the rural areas;
• Indigenous Knowledge (IK) – the protection of Southern African indigenous knowledge from bio-pirates who would appropriate the knowledge and the resources is another of the HBS’s areas of work.