NDLI: The Economic Consequences of Alien Plant Invasions: Examples of Impacts and Approaches to Sustainable Management in South Africa

Please wait, while we are loading the content...

A Survey of Perception, Knowledge, Awareness, and attitude in Regard to Environmental Problems in a Sample of two Different Social Groups in Jakarta, Indonesia

Environment, Development and Sustainability : Volume 3, Issue 1, March 2001

Environment, Development and Sustainability : Volume 2

Environment, Development and Sustainability : Volume 1

The Economic Consequences of Alien Plant Invasions: Examples of Impacts and Approaches to Sustainable Management in South Africa

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	van Wilgen, B.W. Richardson, D.M. Le Maitre, D.C. Marais, C. Magadlela, D.
Copyright Year	2001
Abstract	The invasion of natural ecosystems by alien plants is a serious environmental problem that threatens the sustainable use of benefits derived from such ecosytems. Most past studies in this field have focussed on the history, ecology and management of invasive alien species, and little work has been done on the economic aspects and consequences of invasions. This paper reviews what is known of the economic consequences of alien plant invasions in South Africa. These economic arguments have been used to successfully launch the largest environmental management programme in Africa.Ten million hectares of South Africa has been invaded by 180 alien species, but their impacts are not fully understood, although they are undoubtedly significant. The indications are that the total costs of these impacts are substantial. Selected studies show that invasions have reduced the value of fynbos ecosystems by over US$ 11.75 billion; that the total cost of invasion would be about US$ 3.2 billion on the Agulhas Plain alone; that the net present cost of invasion by black wattles amounts to US$ 1.4 billion; that invasions by red water fern have cost US$ 58 million; and that the cost to clear the alien plant invasions in South Africa is around US$ 1.2 billion. These few examples indicate that the economic consequences of invasions are huge.One of the unique aspects of invasive plant control programmes in South Africa has been the ability to leverage further benefits (mainly through employment) for the expensive control programmes from the government's poverty relief budget. This has made it possible to allocate substantial funding to a programme that would otherwise have struggled to obtain significant support. Biological control of invasive species also offers considerable benefits, but is often the subject of debate. We believe that, at least in the case of many invasive alien plant species in South Africa, biological control offers one of the best, and most cost-effective, interventions for addressing the problem.
Starting Page	145
Ending Page	168
Page Count	24
File Format	PDF
ISSN	1387585X
Journal	Environment, Development and Sustainability
Volume Number	3
Issue Number	2
e-ISSN	15732975
Language	English
Publisher	Kluwer Academic Publishers
Publisher Date	2001-01-01
Publisher Place	Dordrecht
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Economic Geology Ecology Environmental Management Economic Growth Environmental Economics
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Geography, Planning and Development Economics and Econometrics Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Can Sustainable Agriculture Feed Africa? New Evidence on Progress, Processes and Impacts

An assessment of the impacts of acid mine drainage on socio-economic development in the Witwatersrand: South Africa

Water for Sustainable Development in Africa

Global climate interdisciplinary science for the COP17 in Durban, South Africa

Sustainable development - OECD policy approaches for the 21st century

Energy, environment and growth nexus in South Asia

Forced internalization of external environmental cost: experience of a South African Company

Groundwater in the Limpopo Basin: occurrence, use and impact

Towards implementation and achievement of sustainable biofuel development in Africa

The Economic Consequences of Alien Plant Invasions: Examples of Impacts and Approaches to Sustainable Management in South Africa

Similar Documents

Can Sustainable Agriculture Feed Africa? New Evidence on Progress, Processes and Impacts

An assessment of the impacts of acid mine drainage on socio-economic development in the Witwatersrand: South Africa

Water for Sustainable Development in Africa

Global climate interdisciplinary science for the COP17 in Durban, South Africa

Sustainable development - OECD policy approaches for the 21st century

Energy, environment and growth nexus in South Asia

Forced internalization of external environmental cost: experience of a South African Company

Groundwater in the Limpopo Basin: occurrence, use and impact

Towards implementation and achievement of sustainable biofuel development in Africa

The Economic Consequences of Alien Plant Invasions: Examples of Impacts and Approaches to Sustainable Management in South Africa