Find out more about what CABI is doing to tackle the threat posed by invasive species and read our recent research and programme reports.
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Invasive species impact the livelihoods of the rural poor who are dependent on natural resources for income and survival. They also undermine international development investment. CABI is developing an ambitious solution to this complex problem.
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Many exotic trees and shrubs have been introduced into Africa and become destructive invasive species. They're reducing native biodiversity and limiting the livelihoods of those that live in rural communities. CABI is trying to mitigate these impacts in East Africa by generating and sharing knowledge on their effects and finding ways that they can be controlled.
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Invasive species are threatening forest habitats in South East Asia. They also indirectly affect the livelihoods of millions of people who depend on forests for food, commodities and energy. CABI and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in collaboration with partners, have developed a project aimed at conserving globally important forests in the region. The initial aim is to enhance the capacity of Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam to manage their invasive alien species.
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Pastoralists in northern Kenya are heavily dependent on livestock. Their lives are being devastated by the non-native cactus Opuntia stricta. This weed has invaded the last good grazing land and when livestock and wildlife eat its fruits the spines can cause infection and death. Chemical and mechanical control methods are expensive and impractical, so we are helping to introduce a new sustainable method: a sap-sucking insect that feeds solely on the cactus.
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Invasion by the alien plant rubbervine (devil’s claw) is endangering native flora and fauna in northeastern Brazil. In the Caatinga the endemic Carnauba palm, with its highly valued wax, has come under threat. CABI, in collaboration with Brazilian counterparts, is seeking to evaluate the rust Maravalia cryptostegia as a potential biocontrol agent for devil’s claw. The same rust has been used in Australia to successfully control another invasive alien rubbervine species.
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See more of our current invasive species research on cabi.org
- Invasive Species - The hidden threat to sustainable development R.Day, J.Burgoyne, W.Coles, M.Hirschfeld, D.Reid, R.Winks, D.Rangi
- Fall Armyworm Evidence Note (Summary version) September 2017 P.Abrahams, M.Bateman, T.Beale, V.Clottey, M.Cock, Y.Colmenarez, N.Corniani, R.Day, R.Early, J.Godwin, J.Gomez, P.Gonzalez Moreno, S.T. Murphy, B.Oppong-Mensah, N.Phiri, C.Pratt, S.Silvestri, A.Witt
- Fall Armyworm Evidence Note September 2017 P.Abrahams, M.Bateman, T.Beale, V.Clottey, M.Cock, Y.Colmenarez, N.Corniani, R.Day, R.Early, J.Godwin, J.Gomez, P.Gonzalez Moreno, S.T. Murphy, B.Oppong-Mensah, N.Phiri, C.Pratt, S.Silvestri, A.Witt
- Economic impact of Invasive Alien Species in the Caribbean A series of 6 case studies on the economic impacts of invasive species in the Caribbean.
- Invasive mikania in Chitwan National Park, Nepal: the threat to the greater one-horned rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis and factors driving the invasion Sean T. Murphy, Naresh Subedi, Shant Raj Jnawalia, Babu Ram Lamichhanea, Gopal Prasad Upadhyaya, Richard Kocka and Rajan Amina
- Climate change and invasive species Lindsay Norgrove and Greg Masters.
Invasive alien species and climate change, with land use change and changes in the nitrogen and carbon cycles, are identified as the top four drivers of global biodiversity loss. This working paper looks at the issue in detail.
- Case study on biological control of invasive species Richard Shaw, Arne Witt, Matthew Cock, Kate Pollard, Sarah Thomas and Dannie Romney. This case study looks at three examples of biological control in practice, from programmes where CABI has played a role, and provides results from a further five studies.
- Indigenous People and Invasive Species: Perceptions, Management, Challenges and Uses
- Invasive alien plants and their management in Africa (book) Written by Gordon Boy and CABI's Arne Witt, this book provides an account of how a multi-country 'war on weeds' project has contributed to improved management of Invasive Alien Species in Africa. The book provides an account of how the major barriers to invasive plant management were largely overcome in Ethiopia, Ghana, Uganda and Zambia during a five–year UNEP-GEF funded project.
- Implementing Management of Invasive Alien Species: Learning from Global Experiences with Invasive Plants to Optimize the Way Forward Sean T. Murphy, Naresh Subedi
- Status of Mikania micrantha Invasion in the Rhino Habitat of Chitwan National Park, Nepal Babu Ram Lamichhane, Naresh Subedi, Nawa Raj Chapagain, Maheshwar Dhakal, Chiranjibi Prasad Pokheral, Sean T. Murphy, Rajan Amin
- Galvanizing Action for the Management of Invasive Alien Species Key note paper Sean T Murphy at the international conference on Invasive Species Management in Nepal.
- Explaining the variation in impacts of non-native plants on local-scale species richness: the role of phylogenetic relatedness Montserrat Vilà, Rudolf P. Rohr, José L. Espinar, Philip E. Hulme, Jan Pergl, Johannes J. Le Roux, Urs Schaffner and Petr Pyšek
- Current and Potential Use of Phytophagous Mites as Biological Control Agent of Weeds Carlos Vásquez, Yelitza Colmenárez, José Morales-Sánchez, Neicy Valera, María F. Sandoval and Diego Balza.
- Planting Sentinel European Trees in Eastern Asia as a Novel Method to Identify Potential Insect Pest Invaders Alain Roques, Jian-ting Fan, Béatrice Courtial, Yan-zhuo Zhang, Annie Yart, Marie-Anne Auger-Rozenberg, Olivier Denux, Marc Kenis, Richard Baker, Jiang-hua Sun
- Invasive Insects Differ from Non-Invasive in Their Thermal Requirements Vojtěch Jarošík†, Marc Kenis, Alois Honěk, Jiří Skuhrovec, Petr Pyšek
- Taxonomic dissimilarity in patterns of interception and establishment of alien arthropods, nematodes and pathogens affecting woody plants in Europe Rene Eschen, Alain Roques and Alberto Santini.
The number and impact of alien tree pests and pathogens increase in many countries as a result of international trade, despite phytosanitary measures aimed at preventing their introduction. This paper compares patterns in interceptions and establishments of alien arthropod pests and pathogens of woody plants in Europe.
- Distribution of the invasive alien weed, Lantana camara, and its ecological and livelihood impacts in eastern Africa Ross T Shackleton, Arne BR Witt, Winnifred Aool & Corin F Pratt (2017). In: African Journal of Range & Forage Science
- Fall armyworm inception report (April 2017) P. Abrahams, T. Beale, M. Cock, N. Corniani, R.Day, J.Godwin, S. Murphy, G. Richards & J. Vos.
- Chromolaena odorata (Siam weed) in eastern Africa: distribution and socio-ecological impacts Ross T. Shackleton, Arne B. R. Witt, Winnie Nunda, David M. Richardson. in: Biological Invasions. April 2017, Volume 19, Issue 4, pp 1285–1298
- Economic impacts of invasive alien species on African smallholder livelihoods Corin F. Pratt, Kate L. Constantine, Sean T. Murphy. A paper that analyses the threat that invasive species pose to agriculture and smallholder farmers in East Africa. In: Global Food Security.