Staff Reporter|Published3 minutes agoOne million seeds illegally harvested in Western Cape’s biodiversity trafficking

More than one million indigenous seeds were illegally harvested in the Western Cape in just five months, signalling a shift by organised crime syndicates towards harder-to-detect biodiversity trafficking. A shift from plant poaching to mass seed harvesting has triggered alarm in the Western Cape, with more than one million seeds illegally stripped from the province in just five months. Figures revealed in a recent parliamentary reply show that between October 2025 and February 2026, a total of 1 064 032 seeds and 8 642 indigenous plants were recorded as illegally harvested or poached, pointing to what officials describe as an evolving and increasingly sophisticated criminal trade.

The issue was set to come under scrutiny at a briefing to the Western Cape Standing Committee on Environmental Affairs and Development Planning on Tuesday, where multiple agencies were expected to outline their response to organised poaching syndicates. Stakeholders scheduled to present includedSANParks, SAPS, the Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning,CapeNature, and theCity of Cape Town. According to Dave Bryant, DA Western Cape spokesperson on local government, environmental affairs and development planning, the scale of the seizures reflected a significant change in criminal tactics.

“Tuesday’s briefing will address the reality that our natural infrastructure is under a dual assault. “The illegal succulent trade now mirrors the sophisticated pipelines used for abalone poaching, with our province being treated as a warehouse for international black markets,” Bryant said. According to the SA National Biodiversity Institute, the impacts of the illegal succulent trade have been severe for several endemic species with many restricted range plants in the Northern and Western Cape provinces having been pushed closer to extinction.

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he impacts of the illegal succulent trade have been severe for several endemic species with many restricted range plants in the Northern and Western Cape provinces having been pushed closer to extinction. Assessments conducted for one of the most in-demand plant groups, the genusConophytum(common names:button plants (Eng.); knopies (Afr.),has resulted in 97% of the 210 species being listed to one of the three International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) threatened categories. Assessments conducted for one of the most in-demand plant groups, the genus has resulted in 97% of the 210 species being listed to one of the three International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) threatened categories.

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