Box 21.2 (continued)
(Wicht 1945). There are two important aspects to this quote. First, there was an
assumption that attempts to bring alien plant invasions down to maintenance
levels would focus only on protected areas, and second, that a focus on
protected areas would be the only way in which at least a representative
portion of the unique Cape vegetation could be retained. In essence, this was
an early call for the need to practice conservation triage. This concept
(whereby some invaded land is abandoned to invasions, with control focussing
on areas where progress can be made) has recently re-emerged (Bottrill et al.
2008; van Wilgen et al. 2016), but is controversial.
In the 1970s, the Department of Forestry embarked on an ambitious
campaign aimed at eliminating invasive alien Hakea shrubs from vast areas
in the southwestern mountains of what was then the Cape Province. John
Fenn, regional director of forestry in the Western Cape, noted in 1980 that “By
using new methods and techniques, the brush-cutter became the most useful
and effective machine for these operations. The costs of eradicating dense
areas of Hakea dropped dramatically. Labour units used per hectare dropped
from 22 to 5, and in certain areas, dropped as low as 1.5 units per hectare. All
of a sudden the clearing of these vast areas of Hakea no longer looked
impossible” (Fenn 1980). This is a clear indication that mechanised techniques
are essential if the goals of reaching a maintenance level are to be achieved.
However, the current practice of relying on manual and labour-intensive
clearing (to maximise employment opportunities) has reduced efficiency
levels, resulting in a lack of progress towards the goals of reaching a maintenance level (Fill et al. 2017).
Acknowledgements BvW and JRW thank the DSI-NRF Centre for Invasion Biology and
the South African National Research Foundation for support (grants 109467, 85412 and 86894).
LCF acknowledges South African National Parks, the DSI-NRF Centre for Invasion Biology,
Stellenbosch University, and the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant Numbers
IFR2010041400019 and IFR160215158271). The South African Department of Environment,
Forestry, and Fisheries (DEFF) are thanked for funding the South African National Biodiversity
Institute noting that this publication does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of
DEFF or its employees.
References
Attwell J (1985) Alien plant control by volunteer groups in the fynbos biome. In: Macdonald IAW,
Jarman ML, Beeston P (eds) Management of invasive alien plants in the fynbos biome.
South African national scientific programmes report no. 111, CSIR, Pretoria
Bottrill MC, Joseph LN, Carwardine J et al (2008) Is conservation triage just smart decision
making? Sci Soc 23:649–654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2008.07.007
21 The Extent and Effectiveness of Alien Plant Control Projects in South Africa
623
(Wicht 1945). There are two important aspects to this quote. First, there was an
assumption that attempts to bring alien plant invasions down to maintenance
levels would focus only on protected areas, and second, that a focus on
protected areas would be the only way in which at least a representative
portion of the unique Cape vegetation could be retained. In essence, this was
an early call for the need to practice conservation triage. This concept
(whereby some invaded land is abandoned to invasions, with control focussing
on areas where progress can be made) has recently re-emerged (Bottrill et al.
2008; van Wilgen et al. 2016), but is controversial.
In the 1970s, the Department of Forestry embarked on an ambitious
campaign aimed at eliminating invasive alien Hakea shrubs from vast areas
in the southwestern mountains of what was then the Cape Province. John
Fenn, regional director of forestry in the Western Cape, noted in 1980 that “By
using new methods and techniques, the brush-cutter became the most useful
and effective machine for these operations. The costs of eradicating dense
areas of Hakea dropped dramatically. Labour units used per hectare dropped
from 22 to 5, and in certain areas, dropped as low as 1.5 units per hectare. All
of a sudden the clearing of these vast areas of Hakea no longer looked
impossible” (Fenn 1980). This is a clear indication that mechanised techniques
are essential if the goals of reaching a maintenance level are to be achieved.
However, the current practice of relying on manual and labour-intensive
clearing (to maximise employment opportunities) has reduced efficiency
levels, resulting in a lack of progress towards the goals of reaching a maintenance level (Fill et al. 2017).
Acknowledgements BvW and JRW thank the DSI-NRF Centre for Invasion Biology and
the South African National Research Foundation for support (grants 109467, 85412 and 86894).
LCF acknowledges South African National Parks, the DSI-NRF Centre for Invasion Biology,
Stellenbosch University, and the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant Numbers
IFR2010041400019 and IFR160215158271). The South African Department of Environment,
Forestry, and Fisheries (DEFF) are thanked for funding the South African National Biodiversity
Institute noting that this publication does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of
DEFF or its employees.
References
Attwell J (1985) Alien plant control by volunteer groups in the fynbos biome. In: Macdonald IAW,
Jarman ML, Beeston P (eds) Management of invasive alien plants in the fynbos biome.
South African national scientific programmes report no. 111, CSIR, Pretoria
Bottrill MC, Joseph LN, Carwardine J et al (2008) Is conservation triage just smart decision
making? Sci Soc 23:649–654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2008.07.007
21 The Extent and Effectiveness of Alien Plant Control Projects in South Africa
623