Woody Invasive Species: A Regional Assessment - IUCN Invasive ...

Summary of Workshop Proceedings
Summary of Workshop Proceedings
The workshop was a first opportunity to bring together experts from the small islands of
the south-western Indian Ocean to consider the threats posed by plant invaders to the
indigenous terrestrial biodiversity of the region (Annex 1). This volume summarises
experiences shared, priorities identified and joint actions defined during the workshop.
From formal presentations and field visits, as well as formal and informal
discussions, it was clear that numerous Invasive Alien Species (IAS) management
activities are being undertaken in the region. In La Réunion efforts are well advanced
towards implementing a risk assessment procedure for proposed new plant introductions
(le Bourgeois et. al). Species-led IAS management work has been undertaken in La
Réunion (le Bourgeois et al., Brondeau & Hivert), Seychelles (Vielle) and Mauritius
(Gopal). Area-led management has been undertaken in La Réunion (Triolo), Mauritius
(Gopal), Rodrigues (Payendee) and Seychelles (Barreau, Kueffer), including some
exemplary islet restoration efforts in Mauritius (Gopal, Mauremootoo) and Seychelles
(Hill et al.). Little information exists on the efficacy of this restoration work although
opportunistic monitoring has been undertaken in Mauritius (Florens) and is being
attempted on a more systematic level in La Réunion through the INVABIO project
(Lavergne et al.)
Sharing experience has been hampered by a lack of accessible information on the
IAS situation in the region. This shortcoming is now being redressed by initiatives such
as the current workshop and the FAO regional assessment of invasive woody species in
the region (Kueffer and Vos). Efforts to summarise anecdotal information and grey
literature are exemplified by the synthesis of weed control methods in undertaken by
ONF in La Réunion (Brondeau & Hivert).
International initiatives such as the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP),
the Cooperative Islands Initiative (CII) and others (Boudjelas) can complement national
and regional efforts in IAS management. The potential benefit of such initiatives has been
increased by advances in communications technology, manifested by the increasing
amount of valuable information on IAS now available on the web (Annexes 8 and 9).
Finding sufficient resources for IAS management is a challenge, notably in the
IFR Comoros where basic needs are inevitably prioritised above biodiversity
conservation (Mohamed & Ibrahim, Ali Abdou). Mainstreaming, exemplified by the
South African Working for Water scheme (Mauremootoo), offers hope that IAS
management can be integrated into national developmental priorities. The proposed
declaration on IAS to the forthcoming SIDS summit in Mauritius (Annex 7), as requested
by the Seychelles Minister of the Environment in his opening address, represents a
tangible effort of the workshop participants to mainstream IAS issues.
Many of the IAS management priorities identified by workshop participants
(Annex 2 and 3) could benefit from a regional approach. The perceived need to maintain
the momentum generated by the workshop (Annex 4) resulted in the articulation of
measures that could be pursued to advance IAS management efforts in the region in the
short, medium and long terms (Annex 5). A key component of this will be a formalised
regional programme for IAS management (Annex 6). Such a programme will take some
time to develop. In the meantime it seems likely that the informal network of workshop
participants (Annex 10) can help to advance IAS issues to the top of the regional agenda.
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