Current Affairs
Article published in WESSA KZN news
(Jan-Mar edition)
2002 – A Landmark Year for Alien
Weed and Invader Plant Legislation?
2002 promises
to be a landmark year for legislation to assist in the fight against alien weeds
and invader plants. The Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act (CARA) of
1983 has been rewritten and is currently at the review stage.
This legislation
will put into the law the requirement that a property is certified ‘weed
free’ before transfer can take place. It must be stressed that it is currently
illegal to have on your property plant species listed under Category 1 of the
existing CARA legislation and that you may only have Category 2 and 3 plant
species if certain requirements are fulfilled. And to reiterate the answer to one of the most often asked queries, yes,
the camphor tree, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, is listed as a Category One
plant and as such must be eradicated.
Householders who wish to be proactive in the fight against invasive species but are concerned
at the potential cost that large plant removal may incur should contact the
Alien Invader Plants Project. A solution may be at hand. A thriving secondary
industry is developing with operators using portable sawmills. Often the cost of
removal is either greatly offset or even covered by the value of the timber.
The second piece of legislation that will give further legislative backbone to the
fight against alien weeds and invader plants is the National Biodiversity Bill,
which is expected to be promulgated in February of 2002. This expressed purpose
of this legislation with regards to alien and invasive species is to: “to
prevent where possible the introduction and spread of alien species to
ecosystems and habitats where they do not naturally occur and to manage and
control alien species to prevent or minimize harm to the environment and to
biodiversity in particular. "Furthermore the legislation will make the management of alien
weeds and invader plants a legal obligation to all landowners, organs of state,
and management authorities of protected areas.
A final note to teachers and educators interested in using alien weeds and invader
plants as a catalyst for teaching environmental science or creating a school
environmental policy. The Alien Invader Plants Project has developed an active learning programme that focuses
upon alien weeds and invasive plants to enable active learning through Outcome
Based Education (OBE). Teachers and educators interested in the programme should
contact the Project.
Happy Hacking.
Eden
This page was last edited on
23 April, 2006
