If a lump of alien goo landed in South Africa, as depicted in the movie Evolution, there would be no system to prevent it from invading the country and ”wiping the silly smile off our planet”.
Leading scientists who spent years developing a national system to prevent invasions by alien species are dismayed that it has been dismissed by the department of environmental affairs and tourism, leaving the country vulnerable to a similar ”eco-disaster”.
Invasive alien plant and animal species cost the global economy an estimated 5% of GDP annually. As the world’s citizenry becomes increasingly mobile, even the smallest mistake — such as a foreign seed stuck in a sock — can quickly turn into a disaster.
”If we don’t get a legal system to control the introduction of new species into South Africa, and to deal with problematic species already here, we are facing a potential eco-disaster. And while we are bickering about the system, the dangers are growing,” said Professor Steven Chown, director of the Centre for Invasion Biology at Stellenbosch University.
Close to 100 people, including top taxonomic specialists, were consulted on regulations needed to implement the Biodiversity Act. The 2004 legislation aims to manage and conserve biodiversity through the protection of ecosystems, the control and management of alien and invasive species and the regulation of permits.
The experts volunteered to help the government set up a system of best practice in science. This involved broad consultation, including workshops with diverse sectors such as aquaculture, game farmers, nurseries and pet traders.
”For almost two years we worked as part of the task team. We spent a huge amount of time on the project and just about every scientist in this field here agreed the draft regulations we drew up were a good thing,” Chown told the Mail & Guardian.
The scientists’ recommendations — comprising lists of species, where they should be found and how to act against those out of place — were presented to the department before the deadline of January this year, when in terms of the Act they should have been promulgated.
Nothing happened. After inquiries by some experts, the department convened a ”meeting of minds” between scientists and officials on June 1. ”We were assured the process would go ahead and we would continue to be involved,” said Chown.
The experts have received no further formal communication. Some told the M&G they could not understand why the department had dismissed their proposed regulations; others said the department had proposed an ”unworkable” alternative system.
According to one, government officials rejected the scientists’ proposed lists. Sticking points at the meeting included whether South Africa had the capacity to effectively administer a permit system for foreign species, whether importers could be forced to do impact assessments, and whether anyone found with an invasive alien should be presumed guilty until proved innocent.
The department this week would not specify why officials were unhappy with the scientists’ proposals. Said spokesperson Mava Scott: ”This is work in progress, during which there are bound to be different opinions and perspectives, like any policy development process. It is expected that the regulations will be published for comment early next year.”
Frustrated scientists involved in the attempts to ward off alien invasions in South Africa pointed to studies showing that foreign plants, such as jacarandas, wattle and the paraffin bush, already consume at least 7% of the country’s water resources.
According to the Council for Industrial and Scientific Research, it will cost about R650million each year for the next 20 years to remove these plants. If this is not done, the invaders will soon consume 25% of the country’s water resources.
In February 2004, the South African Journal of Science reported that more than 160 of about 8 750 plants that have been introduced to South Africa are considered to be ”seriously invasive”. Alien species are estimated to have invaded at least 10million hectares across the country.
”The scientists are feeling let down,” said an expert involved in the process. ”In the end, it is in the interests of science, conservation and the country to get the regulations through.”