Table 3.

Threat categories assigned to the response to each question of the IUCN’s Threats Classification Scheme, adopted for interrogating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated lockdown restrictions on biodiversity conservation in South Africa during 2020

Question posed	Threat score
Relevant threat: yes	1
Relevant threat: no	0
Impact yes	2
Impact likely	1
Impact unsure	0
Impact no	− 1
Threat increased	2
New threat	1
Threat stable	0
Threat direction unknown	0
Threat reduced	− 1
Duration of threat long-term	3
Duration of threat medium-term	2
Duration of threat short-term	1
Duration of threat unknown	0
Scope affects entire entity	3
Scope affects majority of entity	2
Scope affects minority of entity	1
Scope unknown	0

Threat categories were applicable to all questions under investigation