Dr Paul Bartels of the Department of Nature Conservations, Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) is the project manager of the Biobank. He is also a board member of the Wildlife & Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA), the European, Middle-eastern and African Society for Biopreservation and Biobanking (ESBB) and the Magaliesberg Biosphere.
Charmaine van Wyk, public relations manager for Bakwena, says, “This sponsorship by Bakwena was identified as one of the more significant ways in which a corporate can make a meaningful difference to wildlife conservation. Having a wide array of biospecimens - including blood, cell cultures, and purified DNA - stored in the biotank means that the project will make a significant impact on conservation activities for South Africa, well into the future.”
Dr Bartels adds that the establishment of a biodiversity biobank and database will facilitate the collection and management of DNA and other tissue samples, thereby improving genetic management of wildlife by contributing to healthy and resilient populations. It will also provide a critical resource for the prosecution of wildlife poachers; as well as assisted reproduction technology, where needed.
Bakwena is responsible not only for the maintenance and upgrades of the N1N4 Corridor but also the adjacent environment, and to this end has included wildlife conservation and support of local businesses such as tourism among its corporate social responsibility goals.
Van Wyk offers the following insight into what could be achieved in the future through the use of the biobank. “For instance, the potential exists that by using stored cells derived from ear-notching a Northern white rhino, research production of stem cells may one day result in the birth of pure Northern white rhinos where a Southern white rhino could possibly act as a surrogate mother. This is very exciting for many conservationists around the world.”
This particular biobank project was selected due to the credible institutional backup involved in the project, with both WESSA and TUT being involved, and Dr Bartels himself retaining, as his own personal legacy, a share in the biotank. The biotank is already on site at the Biobank facility in Pelindaba, Pretoria.
