with the development of a system of preventative measures and risk assessments
(Kumschick et al. 2020). The following chapters focus on control and rehabilitation—biological control of invasive plants (Hill et al. 2020b), mechanical and
chemical control of alien plants (van Wilgen et al. 2020a), ecosystem restoration
(Holmes et al. 2020), and alien animal control (Davies et al. 2020) (note: the
management of aquatic plants and alien species on offshore islands are covered in
Part II, together with the status of those invasions). Finally, the human dimensions
affecting alien species control projects are addressed in terms of the evidence for
how people cause invasions, how they conceptualise them, what effects invasive
species have on people, and how people respond to them (Shackleton et al. 2020,
Chap. 24). Chapter 25 covers education, training and capacity-building (Byrne et al.
2020). Currently, South Africa has strong legislation that supports management, but
the capacity to enforce it is low. There has been good progress towards gaining
control of invasions in some areas, but invasions continue to increase at a national
scale. A notable exception is those plant species that have been brought under
effective biological control. Perceptions of biological invasions are poorly understood across much of society, and increased education and outreach is needed to
address this.
Part VI (Chaps. 26–30) explore additional aspects relevant to biological invasions. We have included two chapters that list plant (Pyšek et al. 2020, Chap. 26) and
animal species (Measey et al. 2020b, Chap. 27) that are native to South Africa and
that have become established in other parts of the world. The next chapter addresses
the issue of the two-way flow of information between researchers and managers of
biological invasions in South Africa, with emphasis on barriers to flow as well as the
mechanisms that have been set up to improve information flow (Foxcroft et al. 2020,
Chap. 28). The next chapter reports on a study based on over 2000 South African
research papers that sought to document the impacts of global change drivers on
biodiversity and ecosystem services (van Wilgen et al. 2020b, Chap. 29). The drivers
included biological invasions, climate change, overharvesting, habitat change, pollution, and atmospheric CO 2 . The intent was to gauge the relative research effort
directed towards understanding the impact of biological invasions on biodiversity
and the utility of terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems respectively, compared to other drivers of global change. Interestingly, the long-cited statement that
invasive species pose the second-largest threat to biodiversity conservation is
reflected in South African research effort, but the relative research effort into drivers
of change differs between realms, with habitat change, pollution and overharvesting
being the most important in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine/estuarine ecosystems,
respectively. The achievements of the Centre for Invasion Biology in advancing the
science of biological invasions is the subject of a third chapter (Richardson et al.
2020b, Chap. 30).
In Part VII, we conclude with an evaluation of possible futures (Wilson et al.
2020b, Chap. 31). How are the actions that we take over the next five and next fifty
years likely to affect the issue of biological invasions 200–2000 years from now?
This chapter concludes that, in part based on the insights from this book, there are
some actions that we as South Africans can take so that the next generation can
decide what they want their future to be.
24
B. W. van Wilgen et al.
(Kumschick et al. 2020). The following chapters focus on control and rehabilitation—biological control of invasive plants (Hill et al. 2020b), mechanical and
chemical control of alien plants (van Wilgen et al. 2020a), ecosystem restoration
(Holmes et al. 2020), and alien animal control (Davies et al. 2020) (note: the
management of aquatic plants and alien species on offshore islands are covered in
Part II, together with the status of those invasions). Finally, the human dimensions
affecting alien species control projects are addressed in terms of the evidence for
how people cause invasions, how they conceptualise them, what effects invasive
species have on people, and how people respond to them (Shackleton et al. 2020,
Chap. 24). Chapter 25 covers education, training and capacity-building (Byrne et al.
2020). Currently, South Africa has strong legislation that supports management, but
the capacity to enforce it is low. There has been good progress towards gaining
control of invasions in some areas, but invasions continue to increase at a national
scale. A notable exception is those plant species that have been brought under
effective biological control. Perceptions of biological invasions are poorly understood across much of society, and increased education and outreach is needed to
address this.
Part VI (Chaps. 26–30) explore additional aspects relevant to biological invasions. We have included two chapters that list plant (Pyšek et al. 2020, Chap. 26) and
animal species (Measey et al. 2020b, Chap. 27) that are native to South Africa and
that have become established in other parts of the world. The next chapter addresses
the issue of the two-way flow of information between researchers and managers of
biological invasions in South Africa, with emphasis on barriers to flow as well as the
mechanisms that have been set up to improve information flow (Foxcroft et al. 2020,
Chap. 28). The next chapter reports on a study based on over 2000 South African
research papers that sought to document the impacts of global change drivers on
biodiversity and ecosystem services (van Wilgen et al. 2020b, Chap. 29). The drivers
included biological invasions, climate change, overharvesting, habitat change, pollution, and atmospheric CO 2 . The intent was to gauge the relative research effort
directed towards understanding the impact of biological invasions on biodiversity
and the utility of terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems respectively, compared to other drivers of global change. Interestingly, the long-cited statement that
invasive species pose the second-largest threat to biodiversity conservation is
reflected in South African research effort, but the relative research effort into drivers
of change differs between realms, with habitat change, pollution and overharvesting
being the most important in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine/estuarine ecosystems,
respectively. The achievements of the Centre for Invasion Biology in advancing the
science of biological invasions is the subject of a third chapter (Richardson et al.
2020b, Chap. 30).
In Part VII, we conclude with an evaluation of possible futures (Wilson et al.
2020b, Chap. 31). How are the actions that we take over the next five and next fifty
years likely to affect the issue of biological invasions 200–2000 years from now?
This chapter concludes that, in part based on the insights from this book, there are
some actions that we as South Africans can take so that the next generation can
decide what they want their future to be.
24
B. W. van Wilgen et al.