Chapter 18
Biological Invasion Policy and Legislation
Development and Implementation
in South Africa
Peter Lukey and Jenny Hall
Abstract This Chapter describes and reviews the evolving biological invasion
policy and legislation development and its implementation in South Africa over
approximately the last 160 years. Despite the lack of formal, published government
policy on biological invasions, there has been an almost continuous process of
law-making over the years, with 50 pieces of being passed since the Xanthium
Spinosum Act of 1861. The fundamental legal approach has changed little over
this time, with a strong preference for what we have called the ‘identify and direct’
approach—a ‘problem’ species is identified and specific people are directed to deal
with that species in a specified way. The concept of ‘faultless liability’ often
associated with this approach has been equally resilient (e.g. a landowner is held
responsible for clearing invasions on their land even if they were not responsible for
introducing the species to the area in the first place). The review also suggests
that, from a purely biological invasion management perspective, the South African
‘job-provision’ policy driver that has dominated biological invasion management
activities since the new democratic dispensation in 1994 may have some perverse
impacts in the absence of formal biological invasion policy. One of the key conclusions (with the proviso that biological invasions are indeed a significant threat to
South African society, the economy, and the environment) is that a comprehensive
evidence-based policy-making process should be instituted as a matter of urgency. It
is also suggested that climate change concerns and interest in the global Sustainable
Development Goals may provide the perfect ‘policy-development window’ for the
development of formal policy on biological invasion in South Africa.
P. Lukey (*)
Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Pretoria, South Africa
e-mail: plukey@environment.gov.za
J. Hall
University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
© The Author(s) 2020
B. W. van Wilgen et al. (eds.), Biological Invasions in South Africa, Invading
Nature - Springer Series in Invasion Ecology 14,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32394-3_18
515
Biological Invasion Policy and Legislation
Development and Implementation
in South Africa
Peter Lukey and Jenny Hall
Abstract This Chapter describes and reviews the evolving biological invasion
policy and legislation development and its implementation in South Africa over
approximately the last 160 years. Despite the lack of formal, published government
policy on biological invasions, there has been an almost continuous process of
law-making over the years, with 50 pieces of being passed since the Xanthium
Spinosum Act of 1861. The fundamental legal approach has changed little over
this time, with a strong preference for what we have called the ‘identify and direct’
approach—a ‘problem’ species is identified and specific people are directed to deal
with that species in a specified way. The concept of ‘faultless liability’ often
associated with this approach has been equally resilient (e.g. a landowner is held
responsible for clearing invasions on their land even if they were not responsible for
introducing the species to the area in the first place). The review also suggests
that, from a purely biological invasion management perspective, the South African
‘job-provision’ policy driver that has dominated biological invasion management
activities since the new democratic dispensation in 1994 may have some perverse
impacts in the absence of formal biological invasion policy. One of the key conclusions (with the proviso that biological invasions are indeed a significant threat to
South African society, the economy, and the environment) is that a comprehensive
evidence-based policy-making process should be instituted as a matter of urgency. It
is also suggested that climate change concerns and interest in the global Sustainable
Development Goals may provide the perfect ‘policy-development window’ for the
development of formal policy on biological invasion in South Africa.
P. Lukey (*)
Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Pretoria, South Africa
e-mail: plukey@environment.gov.za
J. Hall
University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
© The Author(s) 2020
B. W. van Wilgen et al. (eds.), Biological Invasions in South Africa, Invading
Nature - Springer Series in Invasion Ecology 14,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32394-3_18
515