Posted on 20-12-2002

Pest Invader Global Nightmare
By Singy Hanyona (Photo shows water hyacinth)

LUSAKA, Zambia, December 17, 2002 (ENS) - Alien invasive species are posing
a threat to the indigenous biodiversity of 14 Member States of the Southern
African Development Community (SADC).

The latest progress report by the regional Southern Africa Biodiversity
Support Program, issued in late November, indicates that already thousands
of hectares of land and water have been colonized by alien plant species
such as water hyacinth (Eichhornia crasipes). A new invasive, poisonous
weed, Lantana (Lantana camara) has threatened the ecology of the Victoria
Falls, a UNESCO World Heritage site shared by Zambia and Zimbabwe. Highly
ornamental in a pot, on the land lantana leads to decreased productivity in
pastures and poisons cattle. It invades disturbed natural ecosystems,
roadsides and creek banks.

The Program Implementation Unit of the Southern Africa Biodiversity Support
Program (SABSP), based in Malawi, has called for urgent measures to uproot
and deal with the lantana as a weed to protect Victoria Falls, the world's
largest falls. The SABSP report describes Southern Africa as an important
treasure house of the remaining mega-fauna of the world. Yet there is no
biodiversity protocol in the Southern African region, the report points
out. Although many sectoral protocols do cover biodiversity, it says, there
still remains a strong case for a cross-sectoral biodiversity protocol. The
report calls for a database on alien species with the extension of the
Southern African Plant Invaders Atlas project to the entire Southern
African Development Community region.

The 7th Regional Biodiversity Forum held in Lusaka November 29 launched a
regional biodiversity strategy and action plan that aims to avert the
growing loss of biological wealth in the region. The draft strategy
represents article 18 of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the
Global Environment Facility (GEF) operational strategy for biological
diversity. Biodiversity expert Dr. Marian Fuller says the SADC region has
battled for the past 10 years against the threats posed by invasive alien
species. Southern Africa must find a link between regional biodiversity and
the New Partnership for Africa's Development, she urges. Fuller stresses
the need to agree on a plan of implementation to reduce loss of biological
diversity in Southern Africa, in view of commitments made at the World
Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg this summer.

Marina Nsingo, Zambia's Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural
Resources has called for the translation of the international Convention on
Biological Diversity into national laws for effective enforcement. "If the
Convention is to have any practical impact, it needs to be implemented by
members states," said Nsingo. Nsingo urged scientists and researchers to
promote traditional and indigenous knowledge in the protection of
intellectual property rights and technology transfer.

The report indicates that progress has been made at the regional level in
terms of establishing national biodiversity strategies and action plans.
For instance, Angola has established a Biodiversity National Steering
Committee with a plan on plant conservation and enforcement of local
legislation. Botswana has undertaken community level biodiversity awareness
with support from the GEF. Mozambique is in the process of revising its
national biodiversity strategies and action plans for the conservation of
biological diversity that takes in issues of poverty alleviation. Namibia
and Zambia are two of the SADC member countries that have completed their
national biodiversity strategies and action plans.

The benefits and importance of biodiversity to Southern Africa are
numerous. A large proportion of the regional population is directly
dependent upon biological resources for subsistence purposes. The use of
biological resources such as the gathering and harvesting of plants for
food, fruits and seeds, vegetables, tubers, medicines, fuel, mushrooms,
honey and fodder, is an important buffer against poverty and provides
opportunities for self-employment in the informal sector.

Lakes Malawi and Chilwa, the Namib desert, the Okavango Delta, Bangweulu
swamps and the Kafue flats, Lake Victoria - all are Ramsar and World
Heritage Sites in Southern Africa, and all are at risk of invasive species.
Globally, Southern Africa has been recognized for its mountain ecosystems
such as the Chimanimani of Mozambique and Zimbabwe, the Nyika of Zambia and
Malawi and the Drakensberg-Maloti of South Africa and Lesotho. According to
the regional baseline data on species diversity for Southern Africa, Zambia
alone has 229 mammal species, 160 reptiles, 83 fish species, and 211
flowering plants that are endemic to the country.

Efforts have been made in the last decade to mobilize local communities in
many SADC countries into community based natural resources management
schemes with a certain degree of success. The CAMPFIRE program in Zimbabwe
and Zambia's Adminstrative Management Design (ADMADE) is often cited as a
success story. Conservation of biological diversity can be conducted
outside of the natural habitat, and in this field the SADC Plant Genetic
Resources Centre (SPGRC) has played the biggest role. Situated east of
Lusaka, the SPGRC is an important regional biodiversity conservation
institution. Established in 1998 under the auspices of SADC, the center was
set up to promote and coordinate a regional plant genetic resources
management program.

The concept of trans-boundary natural resource management has gained wide
support in the region. Many resources in Africa - fruit trees, wild
animals, water and medicinal plants are transboundary resources. The same
applies to traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous
and local communities. This makes the determination of who should benefit
from commercialization of a natural resources difficult. For example, the
Devils Claw plant (harpagophytum procumbens) occurs transboundary in
Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Angola. Healers in these countries have
used it for medicinal purposes since time immemorial. This plant is
commonly used to treat arthritis, gastrointestinal problems,
arteriosclerosis, diabetes, hepatitis and blood pressure ailments.

Although Devils Claw is so important as medicinal plant, the countries in
which it occurs have received few financial benefits from the use of this
plant. The lion's share of these benefits have gone to northern countries
especially Germany, France and Switzerland, according to the latest issue
of the Southern Africa Biodiversity Support Program News. "Two patents on
the extraction process are held in Germany and very little value addition
is presently being done within the countries of source," the SABSP article
says.

Some of the regional biodiversity initiatives include the Maputo Corridor
Biodiversity Project with countries such as Mozambique, South Africa and
Swaziland participating. Conservation International is supporting a project
known as Every River Has Its People in which Botswana and Namibia are
participating.

The SADC Wetlands project involving Botswana, Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe
is another regional initiative being supported by the Norweigian Agency for
International Development.