SASUF Sustainability Forum 2024

Invasive alien species are regarded as one of the direct drivers of biodiversity loss globally. Of interest is the encroachment by invasive alien plants, which are mainly introduced through human movement. Recent reports by IPBES have suggested that invasive alien plants continue to invade new ecosystems and the rate of expansion is unprecedented. Most of the invasive alien plants cause irreversible impacts to both nature and society. Globally, the cost of invasion by invasive alien plants is estimated at billions of US$ through native species displacement, loss of water, and agricultural products. On the other hand, invasive alien plants were intentionally introduced in different regions for different benefits. Several studies have reported that invasive alien plants provide large benefits such as timber, fuelwood, income for rural livelihoods, fodder, and environmental benefits such as dune stabilisation. However, it is generally perceived that the costs associated with invasive alien plants tend to outweigh the benefits, thus the need to manage them sustainably is urgent. Although individual countries and regional bodies have set up measures to manage invasive alien plants, a broad discussion on invasion extent, effects, and control options is needed if management of invasive alien plants is to be effective and integrative.

Our workshop will aim at discussing invasive alien plants as a global environmental problem. We will invite experts with the aim to discuss and address three key questions:
(i) what are the invasion pathways of introduction in Sweden and South Africa?
(ii) what are the effects of invasive alien plants in Sweden and South Africa?
(iii) what management interventions are being put in place in the two countries to manage invasive alien plants?

Overall, we want to create a platform for sharing information about invasive alien plants as well as discussing potential management options being used in the two different countries. The workshop will start with expert presentations on the three themes, followed by panel discussions. We aim to share knowledge on invasive alien plants and control methods that are being implemented. We aim to use the workshop to create future collaborations in invasion biology. Such collaboration will be in the form of student co-supervision, collaborative research funding applications, and co-publication of research papers. Therefore, all workshop participants will be linked, and we will form a research group that works towards understanding invasion biology.

14:00 - 14:15 Anna Treydte (SU-SW): Current and future invasive plant species distribution and impact
14:20 - 14:35 Florence M Murungweni (UNIVEN-SA): Utilizing GIS and Remote Sensing for mapping and monitoring invasive alien plant species
14:40 - 14:55 Cristián Alarcón Ferrari (SLU-SW): Invasive alien plant species and prospects of community participation in science and policy
15:00 - 15:15 Sheunesu Ruwanza (RU-SA): Invasive alien plant control and management interventions
15:20 - 15:55 Discussion on invasion impacts and potential management solutions
15:55 - 16:00 Concluding remarks

The programme is designed in such a way that it will cover all the invasion stages from introduction to management. We want to encourage an interdisciplinary view of all invasion aspects that are discussed. We will discuss possible interlinkages between themes and encourage debates about insufficient management and integrated approaches to long-term sustainable prevention and mitigation planning against invasive plants.

Keywords: Biological invasion, alien plants, invasion pathways, invasion control, ecological restoration.