The meeting was co-organised by the Species Survival
Commission (SSC) of the environmental organisation IUCN and the
governments of Seychelles, Mauritius, Comoros and the French island
of La Réunion.
The 2003 release of the IUCN 'Red List of Threatened Species' had
revealed that invasive species were causing havoc on many islands
around the world, wiping out native plants and animals and disturbing
the delicate ecological balance.
Some ecologists predict that biological pollution by alien invaders
may surpass loss of habitat to become the leading factor in ecological
degradation.
On the Seychelles, alien species were sometimes deliberately introduced
with good intentions, as in the case of the trees Cinnamonum
verum, introduced for commercial and economic reasons, and
Albizzia lebbeck, introduced to combat erosion.
The workshop on terrestrial ecosystem rehabilitation for Western
Indian Ocean island states, hosted by the Seychelles Ministry of
Environment and organised by the SSC Indian Ocean Plant Specialist
Group (IOPSG), brought together over twenty IAS experts from Mauritius,
La Réunion, the Comoros Islands and the Seychelles and was facilitated
by John Mauremootoo of the IOPSG and Souad Boudjelas of the SSC
Invasive Species Specialist Group.
Plant invaders and invasive alien species management for biodiversity
conservation were the main focus of the meeting, IUCN today reports.
Outputs included a declaration on invasive alien species for submission
to this year's Summit on Small Island Developing States to be held
in Mauritius, a concept note for a regional invasive alien species
management project for the small islands of the south western Indian
Ocean, and workshop proceedings, available electronically.
- International initiatives such as the Global Invasive Species
Programme and the Cooperative Islands Initiative can complement
national and regional efforts in invasive alien species management,
IUCN said after the meeting.
Source: Afrol News
