SASUF Satellite Events 2024

In-person attendance restricted to 25 people
Virtual attendance has no limit

2-DAY EVENT:
13 May 09:30-16:30 ( +17:30-19:00 dinner for invited guests)
14 May 10:00-14:00 (The core team (and potentially up to 3 interested partners) will meet for proposal writing)

Humans are dependent on ecosystems, yet the rapid encroachment by invasive alien plants (IAPs) and climate change effects have affected ecosystems globally. Human movement and globalisation have favored the spread of IAPs, which are also often promoted by climate change driven higher temperatures and erratic rainfall. Hence, we need to identify future IAPs encroachment patterns and their risks to formulate measures for mitigating the associated challenges to biodiversity. In this satellite event we will discuss global challenges through invasive alien plants (IAP) from various perspectives. We will discuss what information is available about invasion extent and impacts, costs and benefits of IAPs, and management of IAPs.

The research theme will address the questions
1) what is the nature and extent of IAPs in South Africa, Sweden, and globally,
2) what are the risks to livelihoods caused by IAPs, and
3) what strategies are currently employed to manage IAPs?

First day, Monday, 13.05. 2023:

We are inviting stakeholders that investigate the impact of IAP from a socio-economic as well as an ecological aspect, and we want to invite practitioners and well as researchers and NGOs / industry partners that are working with IAP. We want to exchange knowledge and experiences with IAP across the globe and discuss potential management scenarios based on international examples. The activities of this one day workshop will comprise presentations, smaller group works, panel discussions and we hope to have an active exchange amongst all delegates of the workshop.

Preliminary program:

9.30 – 10.00 Coffee and registration
10:00 - 10:15 Welcome and Introduction to the topic
10:20 - 10:35 Invasive species in Sweden and their management (Anna Treydte, Stockholm University) - live 
10:40 - 10:55 Invasive plants and potential management in eastern Africa (Arne Witt, CABI) - online
11:00 - 11:15 Management of invasive woody plant species in South Africa: the case of australian acacias (Pride Mudavanhu, Agric. Research Council) - online
11:20 - 11:35 Invasion control and restoration: examples from South Africa (Sheunesu Ruwanza, Rhodes University) - live
11:40 - 11:55 Risk analysis for the regulation of invasive species in South Africa (Sabrina Kumschick, CIB and SANBI) - online
12:00 - 12:15 Semi-arid rangelands under invasion: Implications on livelihoods (Lutendo Mugwedi, University of Venda) - online
12:20 - 12:35 Invasive alien plant species and citizen participation in science and research in Sweden (Cristian Alarcon & Ather Al-Idani, Swedish Agric. University SLU) - live
12:40 - 12:55 Developing a framework to mitigate the ecological and economic impacts of invasive alien plants on wetland ecosystems in Limpopo Basin (Florence Murungweni, University of Venda) - online
13:00 - 13:15 Pathways of introduction and spread for alien species: a South African perspective (Katelyn Faulkner, SANBI and University of Pretoria) - online
13:20 - 13:35 The maintenance of tree and grass plantations in Western Himalaya: Material fragility and inventive diplomacy in the face of the unforeseen (Syed Shoaib Ali, SLU and SouthasiaInstitute of Advanced Studies) - live
13:40 - 14:40 lunch
14:40 - 15:20 Scenarios of future spread of IAP and potential management solutions will be discussed in small groups based on examples (5-6 participants per group)
15:20 - 15:50 Tea break, mingle
15.50 - 16:30 Small group presentations, plenary discussions on possible management; way forward; collaborations across Sweden & South Africa  - direcion of funding

The workshop on day 1 will be offered as a hybrid event so that experts from across the globe can participate without travelling physically to Sweden.

Second day, Tuesday, 14.05.2023:

10.00 – 14.00 The core team (and potentially up to 3 interested partners) will meet for proposal writing
15.00 Travels to the plenary event in Lund, discussions to be continued on demand

On the second day of the satellite event, we want to sit together in a small team to work on a proposal for research funding to investigate novel technologies in invasive plant management through a trans-disciplinary lense.

Keywords: Invasive alien plants, distribution, management, climate change, scenarios

Contact person (i) Prof Anna Treydte (Stockholm University) - email: Anna.treydte@natgeo.su.se
 (ii) Prof Sheunesu Ruwanza (Rhodes University) - email: s.ruwanza@ru.ac.za