Halfway through one of the Western Cape’s driest winters for decades, leading scientists and experts are set to gather in Cape Town to exchange ideas on the impact invasive alien plants are having on South Africa’s water resources.
Hosted by the Working for Water Programme (WWP), the Inaugural Research Symposium will be held at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in the Mother City from August 19 to 21.
According to the WWP’s Dr Christo Marais, the event ”aims to encourage knowledge-sharing, integration and innovation by bringing together researchers from a range of disciplines”.
Between 200 and 250 delegates, including some from other African countries, are expected to attend the gathering.
Speaking at a media breakfast in Cape Town on Tuesday, Marais said their presence would create a ”continental focus” on invasive alien plants.
Invader plants pose a massive threat to Africa’s water resources.
In South Africa alone they affect almost 10-million hectares ‒ 8,28% of the country — and are spreading rapidly at a considerable cost to the economy and the environment.
Invasive pines and gums, among others, suck up a high percentage of the country’s annual water run-off.
Marais said research themes identified for the conference included the impact invasive alien plants had on water resources and ecosystems, as well as the use of public works programmes to control their spread.
Currently, control of the spread of invasive aliens is being carried out by the WWP, hailed as one of the world’s most successful conservation programmes.
Conservationists hope the symposium will highlight more clearly just how much money the WWP — operating this year on a budget of R400-million –is saving South Africa through its various manual and biological control efforts.
According to Marais, invasive black wattles, a ubiquitous feature of many South African landscapes, have cost the country R14-billion in lost streamflow.
One of the highlights of the symposium is expected to be a public lecture — Aliens in my backyard: xenophobia or serious threat? — to be delivered by Ukuvuka Campaign manager Sandra Fowkes. – Sapa