Contacts: In Nairobi:Peter Warutere
(254-20) 3226444
pwarutere@worldbank.org In Washington: Beldina Auma
(202) 473 7307
baumaowuor@worldbank.org Nairobi , November 27, 2007 —Invasive alien species can cause serious ecological, environmental and health effects if uncontrolled, warns the World Bank. “The adverse impact of invasive speciescan impede economic growth and poverty alleviation, as well as threaten food security and biodiversity,” says Dr. Kathy MacKinnon, World Bank’s Lead Biodiversity Specialist. Globally, the cost of damage caused by invasive species has been estimated at close to US$1.5 trillion annually—close to 5 percent of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In developing countries where agriculture accounts for a higher proportion of GDP, the negative impact of invasive species on food security and economic development is much higher. The rate at which invasive alien species are spreading and the geographical range of their spread are ever more increasing with the rise in international trade, travel and transport. Climate change is expected to further exacerbate this problem. Invasive alien species are non-native species—plants, animals and micro-organisms—that are accidentally or intentionally introduced to new geographical areas or ecosystem. Despite their threat to biodiversity and economic development, these species rarely receive due recognition by policy-makers especially in Africa, says Mr. Dennis Rangi, the Chairman of the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP) and the Executive Director of CAB International. Over 20 Parliamentary and Ministerial legal experts from 10 Eastern and Southern African countrieswere in Nairobi for a training course on drafting of legal and institutional frameworks for the management of these species. The three day course, organized through GISP, took place from November 20-22, 2007. It was funded by the World Bank and the Dutch Government. In Kenya, where the training course was organized, issues surrounding invasive alien species are certainly not new. One species that has caused particularly significant environmental damages and economic costs is water hyacinth in Lake Victoria. Water hyacinth, a free-floating aquatic plant from tropical America, has reduced fish population in the Lake through de-oxygenation of water, hindered operations at a hydroelectric plant and caused eutrophication of water leading to adverse impacts on domestic, agricultural and industrial uses of the Lake. It has also increased the cost of purifying water due to higher concentration of suspended decaying organic matter. The annual cost of this “hyacinth infestation” has been estimated at as much as US$6-10 million. Invasive species in other African countries have had similarly damaging effects. In Tanzania, it is estimated that the larger grain borer Prostephanus truncatus causes more than US$90 million in maize losses annually. In South Africa, wattle and other foreign trees are taking over the mountain catchments areas surrounding Cape Town, and if they continue at current rates, they may reduce water supply for the city by as much as 30 percent Many countries in Africa lack the capacity and infrastructure to adequately control and manage the spread of invasive species. “This workshop is a fundamental and extremely important step towards building capacity in Africa to address this urgent and rapidly rising challenge,” says Mr. Rangi. The training course in Nairobi specifically focused on the legal and institutional aspects of invasive alien species. It introduced the course participants to a broad range of key issues, including effective identification and monitoring of ways in which these species are introduced (both intentional and unintentional introduction), regulatory and enforcement challenges, and means to promote regional and international cooperation and collaboration. Through six interactive modules and a number of hands-on exercises, this training course was designed to provide necessary knowledge and useful tools for policy and legal experts who are entrusted with drafting policy documents to prevent and manage the spread of invasive alien species in their respective countries. A similar training course will be held in Dakar, Senegal on December 5-7, 2007. For more information visit: http://www.gisp.org For more information about World Bank in Kenya visit: http://www.worldbank.org/ke The participants are from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. |
RSS