May 22nd is World Biodiversity Day.
The trouble with "Days" like this is that there are far too many of them to keep track of, and this means that the ones which really matter - like World Biodiversity Day - are more often than not forgotten.
Hats off, therefore, to UNEP, the Global Environment Facility and the National Agricultural Research Organisation (of Uganda) for taking a 2-page spread in today's Ugandan newspapers drawing attention to World Biodiversity Day and highlighting the risks presented by (the wonderfully accurately named) Invasive Alien Species, among which are the attractive ornamental Lantana Camara (pictured above). An Invasive Alien is defined as one which is vectored by human transportation and "arrives, survives and thrives" at the expense of native organisms, usually because its natural enemies are absent from its new environment. Lantana is perennial, toxic to livestock, provides a good habitat for tsetse flies and, due to its fast-growing bushiness, crowds out other plants.
Uganda's remarkably benign and fertile environment makes it especially prone to plant invasion. The water hyacinth infestation of Lake Victoria in the 1990s is the most widely known, but other dangerous newcomers include the tree, Senna Spectabilis, the grass Cymbopogon Nardus and the flowering plant Parthenium Hysterophorus - all of which threaten Uganda's eco-systems.
As always, of course, the problem is exacerbated by ignorance, poor education and dissemination, and weak controls over planting material. Lantana Camara is still being widely planted as an ornamental in Kampala gardens, even in properly landscaped gardens. I took this picture earlier today at the entrance to the Kampala Serena Hotel.
What we really need is an "Uproot Lantana Camara Day", with rewards to schools and civil organisations for the greatest biomass collected. The trouble is, with so many other special "Days", would anyone notice?
No comments:
Post a Comment