Rapid Spread Of Invasive Species

According to researchers at the Centre for Invasion Biology at Stellenbosch University (SU), a total of 1422 alien species are currently naturalised or invasive in South Africa. Much more action is needed to counter the increasing threats posed by invasive alien species in the country, warns Wiida Fourie-Basson, science writer in the SU Faculty of Sciences.

- Wiida Fourie - Basson

Invasive alien species (AIS) have emerged as one of the top five threats to biodiversity and ecosystems worldwide, yet only a handful of countries regard biosecurity measures as a priority. So warns a team of researchers in a new global overview of environmental change due to invasive alien species. The article, ‘Scientists’ warning on invasive alien species’, published in Biological Reviews on 26 June 2020, forms part of the ‘World scientists warning to humanity: a second notice initiative’, a document signed by over 15 000 scientists calling for an urgent change in our approach to stewardship of the Earth and life on it.

Prof David Richardson, director of the Centre for Invasion Biology at Stellenbosch University, and one of the lead authors of the study says South Africa has invested heavily in a programme to reduce the impact of invaders on ecosystem services, but “much more action is needed”.

“Urgent interventions are needed at both national and international levels to tackle the challenges more effectively,” he stresses.

AIS are plants, animals and microbes introduced by people to areas where they do not occur naturally. Many thrive, spread widely, and harm the environment, economy or human health.