It is very important to fully understand the faunal diversity as this promotes better management and conservation efforts. In the Eastern Free State we have a unique mixture of mountains and high altitude grassland that needs proper faunal genetic diversity assessment. The area has several towns that are developing (urbanisation) at a faster rate and humans interactions with animals is increasing. The communities in these towns hunt animals for food consumption or for traditional medicine and for rituals, and this could lead to decline of faunal diversity in the region if it is not done sustainably. Getting an estimate of how much faunal diversity we have in the region will help understand the impact that urbanisation have and conservation efforts could be improved. This will be done by use of molecular genetics which is my area of speciality. I used molecular genetics to conduct research on the Tropidosaura Mountain lizards (Herpetology) found on top of the Maloti-Drakensberg Mountains and on Labeo fishes (Ichthyology) of the South African river systems.