South African ecologists currently face many challenges related to biodiversity conservation and growing economy. Overhunting and land development, as well as unemployment, all remain growing concerns for this troubled country. Jan-Hendrik, a South African who contacted us, said: “South Africa has many social and economic problems because most people are poor. To bring them to the middle class it is necessary for the economy to grow through mining and the expansion of housing areas” (Hendrik). The growth of South Africa's economy often comes at the expense of nature. Mining, fracking, expanding housing areas, and big game hunting are all beneficial to the economy. Unfortunately, each of them has harmful effects on the earth and animals. According to WildlifeExtra.com, big game hunting contributes 0.04% of the country's GDP, but overhunting contributes to a growing number of endangered species. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature website, eleven of the 229 mammal species in South Africa remain critically endangered, fifteen vulnerable and thirteen near-threatened. Mining, which contributes 18% of GDP, is harmful to air quality, causes deforestation, and releases toxic amounts of minerals and heavy metals into soil and water (“Effects of Mining,” par. 1). According to a case study by the Environmental Monitoring Group, the air quality of Mpumalanga province in South Africa is among the worst in the world due to coal mining, underground fires and the burning of fuel from power plants (Munnik 7). gradually decreasing, it remains a challenge for South Africa. According to Tradingeconomics.com, the current unemployment rate of 24.7% is the lowest in two years. The......middle of the paper......ends A - L." Animal issues A - LNp, nd Web. December 2013."Big game hunting in Africa is economically useless." Wildlife Extra News. Np , n.d. Web. December 2013. Broughton, Jane. “Eco-tourism in South Africa's Winelands.” n.d. Web. December 2013. “Effects of Mining.” South Africa, 7 March 2013. Web. December 2013. Mbele, Lerato. “Youth's fight against unemployment in South Africa.” Np, nd Web. December 2013. Munnik, Victor, Geraldine Hochmann, Mathews Hlabane and Stephen Law Case study: The social and environmental consequences of mining coal in South Africa: Environmental Monitoring Group, 2010. Print. "South Africa's Unemployment Rate." TRADE ECONOMICS Np, nd Web. 2013.