NAIROBI (Xinhua) --
International scientists have
called for concerted efforts to stop spread of the
invasive alien species, which they say are contributing
to Africa’s inter-community conflicts.
scientists who ended a workshop on invasive species in
Nairobi on Wednesday evening said such species are also
responsible for tremendous economic losses through loss
in forest and agricultural productivity, and the spread
Invasive Species Coordinator at CABI’s Invasive Species
Coordinator, attributed Africa’s rising intercommunity
and human-wildlife conflicts to the increase of invasive
the invasions by the species in adjoining
agro-ecosystems reduce crop and pasture production,
hence forcing some communities to encroach into others
“Pastoralists and farmers’ conflicts have grown, spread
and intensified over the past decade hence posing a
threat to security in some countries,” Wilt noted.
such species also forced wildlife to forage outside on
farms, resulting in increased human-wildlife conflict.
problems have been pronounced in Nigeria and Kenya in
recent years, according to him.
Boussini, Animal Health Officer with the African Union
Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR),
said livestock production is also affected when invasive
weeds colonize prime grazing land, thus driving farmers
into marginal areas.
for access to resources and fear of the plant and
disease spreading across the area leads to conflicts
between communities,” he added.
said that elephant-human conflict in Central Kenya is
also an example of conflict caused by invasive species
as the presence of Opuntia stricta forces the wildlife
to move to farms.
“It is time
that the African governments allocate funds for the
eradication of invasive species,” he added.