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.
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