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NIASWG

Namibian Invasive Alien Species Working Group (NIASWG)

About

The Namibian Invasive Alien Species Working Group (NIASWG) was established in 2022 as a collaborative effort between the Namibian government and non-governmental partners in response to the increasing threats caused by invasive alien plant species in Namibia.

 

Invasive alien plants and animals are one of the five major threats to global biodiversity and also cost global economies hundreds of billions of dollars each year. These are defined as non-indigenous species that adapt well to conditions where they are introduced and then spread or flourish rapidly, often in the absence of their natural enemies. If nothing is done to reduce the spread or eradicate these species, they can take over large pieces of agricultural and protected land, cause disease or injuries to both livestock and wildlife, negatively affect indigenous plants and animals, and ultimately damage native ecosystems.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), under Goal 15 “Life on Land”, requires member states to, “by 2020, introduce measures to prevent and significantly reduce the impact of invasive alien species on land and water ecosystems and control or eradicate the priority species.” Namibia’s Second National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2013-2022 (NBSAP2), under Goal 8, directs that, “by 2018, priority measures are in place to control and manage the impact of invasive alien species in Namibia“.

Invasive alien species, both plants and animals, are of considerable concern in Namibia. They have a significant negative impact on indigenous biodiversity, agricultural production and sense of place. The numbers of invasive alien species in Namibia are increasing, as are population ranges and densities. Despite the introduction of alien species into local ecosystems requiring an Environmental Clearance Certificate under the Environmental Management Act of 2007, in practice there is little control and monitoring of alien species entering the country, being sold, distributed and propagated. The situation regarding invasive aliens is largely unregulated in Namibia. Recent actions to control and monitor invasive alien plants have been driven largely by civil society. Most of the work until now has focused on controlling plant species, since these are currently a bigger problem for Namibia than the animal species.

Winning the battle against invasive alien species requires a multi-pronged plan of action that involves the public, government, and non-governmental partners. The importance of addressing the growing problem of invasive alien species in Namibia and its increasing urgency prompted a group of ecologists and environmentally concerned individuals, from both government (central and local) and civil society to come together for a brainstorming meeting to discuss and debate the issue and to develop a prioritised Action Plan. The four main prongs of this Action Plan are:

  1. Prevent the import of potentially invasive alien species into Namibia;
  2. Stop the spread of existing invasive alien species within Namibia;
  3. Actively manage, control and, where possible, eliminate existing invasive alien species within Namibia;
  4. Establish an inclusive institutional mechanism to collectively implement the above Plan.

Visit the Action Plan tab to learn more.

Working Group documents

NIASWG 3rd Meeting 6 Dec 2023.pdf

Minutes of the 3rd Meeting of the Namibian Invasive Alien Species Working Group 6 December 2023 at 10h00

NIASWG 2nd Meeting 29 May 2023.pdf

Minutes of the 2nd Meeting of the Namibian Invasive Alien Species Working Group 29 May 2023 at 14h00

NIASWG 1st Meeting 27 Feb 2023.pdf

Minutes of the 1st Meeting of the Namibian Invasive Alien Species Working Group 27 February 2023 at 09h00

NCWG Members

Chair:

Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, represented by Ms. Esmerialda Strauss, Deputy Director, Division: Forest & Botanical Research.

Deputy Chair:

Ms. Frances Chase, Head of Projects, Namibia Nature Foundation

Secretariat:

Secretariat services are currently provided by NCE: admin@n-c-e.org.

If you are interested in joining NIASWG please contact the Secretariat. Membership is free.

Member Organisations:

Association of Local Authorities in Namibia
Botanical Society of Namibia
City of Windhoek
Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform
Ministry of Education, Arts and Cultures
Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism
Namibia Nature Foundation
Namibian Agronomic Board
Namibian Chamber of Environment
National Botanical Research Institute
NUST Biodiversity Research Centre

Action Plan

The NIASWG has drafted an Action Plan which has four main components:

  1. Prevent the import of potentially invasive alien species into Namibia;
  2. Stop the spread of existing invasive alien species within Namibia;
  3. Actively manage, control and, where possible, eliminate existing invasive alien species within Namibia;
  4. Establish an inclusive institutional mechanism to collectively implement the above Plan.

» Download the Action Plan to read more about the four components

Invasive alien species in Namibia

One of the tasks of the working group is to more clearly define which species are invasive aliens.

In Namibia, approximately 38 trees or large shrubs62 forbs and 24 grasses are considered invasive alien plants, 15 of which are serious economic and ecological threats. Many of the invasive shrubs are cactus species that flourish in Namibia’s arid environments, while aquatic weeds can choke the few permanent water sources in the country. Dry riverbeds and other disturbed areas are particularly vulnerable to invasion, which diminishes groundwater.

Several invasive alien animal species have been recorded in Namibia, including seven fishesthree reptilesseven birdsfour snailsone crayfishtwo mussels and seven mammals. Eleven of these are considered serious threats to our native species. Besides outcompeting local species for space and resources (often the main threat), some invasive alien animals are similar enough to our native animals to interbreed with them and thus pose a genetic problem.

Plants

Fish

  • seven species

Reptiles

  • three species

Birds

  • Mallard Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758; A. p. platyrhynchos Linnaeus.
  • Rock Dove (Feral Pigeon) Columba livia Gmelin, 1789.
  • Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri Scopoli, 1769; P. k. borealis Neumann, 1915.
  • House Crow Corvus splendens Vieillot, 1817; C. s. splendens Vieillot.
  • Common Myna Acridotheres tristis Linnaeus, 1766.
  • Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758; S. v. vulgaris Linnaeus.
  • House Sparrow Passer domesticus Linnaeus, 1758; P. d. domesticus (Linnaeus).
» Download a species list with more details.

Snails

  • four species

Crayfish

  • one species

Mussels

  • two species

Mammals

  • seven species

Resources

Namibia

Announcement of prohibition on importation of large predators and alien species of wild animals. 2019
Environmental Management Act. 2007
Environmental Management Act. 2007: Commencement, Activities and Regulations. 2012
Food for thought on AISWG. 2014
Import and Export Control Act 30 of 1994
Indigenous trees and shrubs to plant in gardens, schools, lodges, and municipal areas in the central parts of Namibia. 2024
Invasive Alien Species Action Plan
Namibia's Second National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2013 – 2022
Namibia's Second National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2013 – 2022: Extracts
Proposed list of plants to be declared alien invasive in Namibia
Review of Legislation on Invasive Alien Species in Namibia including three Annexes. 2024
Sixth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity (2014-2018)

Abridged proceedings of the workshop on Alien Invasive Species in Namibia 2004. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Bethune S et al. 2004. National review of invasive alien species, Namibia. Consultancy Report on information collected regarding Invasive alien species in Namibia for the SABSP. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Boyer DC. 1989. Invasive alien plants in areas of the Namib Naukluft Park disturbed by man. Madoqua 16(2):137-139. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Brown CJ et al. 1985. Invasive alien organisms in South West Africa/Namibia. Brown CJ et al (Eds). South African National Scientific Programmes Report 119. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia 2002. Government Notice, No. 231: Promulgation of Aquaculture Act, 2002 (Act No. 18 of 2002), of the Parliament. 1-22. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia 2003. Government Notice, No. 91: Promulgation of Inland Fisheries Resources Act, 2003 (Act No. 1 of 2003), of the Parliament. 1-15. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia 2003. Government Notice, No. 117 & 118: Commencement of the Inland Fisheries Resources Act, 2003 (Act No. 1 of 2003); Inland Fisheries Resources Regulations: Inland Fisheries Resources Act, 2003 (Act No. 1 of 2003). Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia 2002. Government Notice, No. 245 & 246: Commencement of Aquaculture Act, 2002 (Act No. 18 of 2002), of the Parliament; Aquaculture (Licensing) Regulations: Aquaculture Act, 2002. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia 2002. Government Notice, No. 71: Regulations relating to import and export of aquatic organisms and aquaculture products: Aquaculture Act, 2002. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Henschel JR & Parr T. 2009. Population changes of alien invasive plants in the lower Kuiseb River. Dinteria 31: 5-17. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Joubert DF. 2009. Invasive plants in Namibian subtropical and riparian woodlands. In: Kohli RK et al. (Eds). 2009. Invasive plants and forest ecosystems. CRC Press. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Klaassen ES & Kwembeya EG. 2013. A Checklist of Namibian Indigenous and Naturalised Plants. National Botanical Research Institute, Occasional Contributions 5. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Macdonald IAW & Nott TB. Invasive alien organisms in central SWA/Namibia: Results of a reconnaissance survey conducted in November 1984. Madoqua 15(1): 21-34. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Malan J. Discussion document on the regulation of alien and invasive species. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) 2001. Towards responsible development of aquaculture – Namibia’s Aquaculture Policy. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Schachtschneider K & February EC. 2013. Impact of Prosopis invasion on a keystone tree species in the Kalahari Desert. Plant Ecology 214(4): 597-605. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Shapaka TN et al. 2008. Invasive alien plants in the Daan Viljoen Game Park. Dinteria 30: 19-32. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Strohbach BJ et al. 2015. Prosopis encroachment along the Fish River at Gibeon, Namibia. I. Habitat preferences, population densities and the effect on the environment. Dinteria 35: 53-73. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Vinjevold RD et al. 1985. Invasive alien plants in the Namib-Naukluft Park. South African National Scientific Programmes Report 119: 24-27. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Williams D et al 2013. Impact of alien trees on mammal distributions along an ephemeral river in the Namib Desert. African Journal of Ecology 52(4): 404-413. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

International

Invasive Alien Species: A threat to biodiversity
IUCN Issues Brief: Invasive alien species and climate change
United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 15: Summary

Convention on Biological Diversity – Invasive Alien Species. Go to this link

Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS). Go to this link

IUCN Global Invasive Species Database (GISD). Go to this link

Novoa A. et al. 2014. Introduced and invasive cactus species: a global review. AoB PLANTS 7. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Plaza PI et al. 2017. Rubbish dumps as invasive plant epicentres. Biol Invasions. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Stricker KB et al. 2015. Improving methods to evaluate the impacts of plant invasions: lessons from 40 years of research. AoB PLANTS 7. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Tsegay BT, Livingstone J and Fre Z (Eds)  2014. Exploring Prosopis management and policy options in the greater Horn of Africa. Proceedings of a regional conference. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

South Africa

Alien and invasive species regulations (South Africa)
Linking regulatory list to taxonomic backbone for Cactaceae
Presentation by Guy Preston to Namibia Scientific Society 29th May 2023
Presentation by Guy Preston to Namibian Invasive Alien Species Working Group 29th May 2023
Prioritisation of targets for weed biological control II
Prioritisation of targets for weed biological control III
South Africa’s National Listed Invasive Species – booklet
South African Alien and Invasive Species lists

An assessment of the information content of South African alien species databases. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

van Wilgen BW, Measey J, Richardson DM, Wilson JR, Zengeya TA (Eds). 2020. Biological invasions in South Africa. Invading Nature – Springer Series in Invasion Ecology 14. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Holmes PM et al. 2005. A decision-making framework for restoring riparian zones degraded by invasive alien plants in South Africa: review article. South African Journal of Science 101: (11-12) 553-564. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Le Maitre DC et al. 2015. Impacts of invading alien plant species on water flows at stand and catchment scales. AoB PLANTS 7. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Shackleton RT et al. 2015. The impact of invasive alien Prosopis species (mesquite) on native plants in different environments in South Africa. South African Journal of Botany 97: 5-31. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Zachariades C et al. 2011. Biological control of mesquite (Prosopis species) (Fabaceae) in South Africa. African Entomology 19(1): 402–415. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Southern Africa

Bruton MN. 1985. Alien and translocated aquatic animals in Southern Africa: a general introduction, checklist and bibliography. South African National Scientific Programmes Report Number 113:1-72. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Macdonald IAW. 1994. Conservation implications of the invasion of southern Africa by alien organisms. PhD Thesis. University of Cape Town. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Peacock DS et al. 2007. The distribution and spread of the invasive alien common myna, Acridotheres tristis L. (Aves: Sturnidae), in southern Africa. South Africa Journal of Science 103: 465-473. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Stafford W et al. 2017.  The economics of landscape restoration: benefits of controlling bush encroachment and invasive plant species in South Africa and Namibia. Ecosystem Services 27: 193–202. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

Walters M et al. 2011. Naturalised and invasive succulents of southern Africa. Samyn Y et al (Eds). 11:370. Download this resource from the EIS eLibrary

How can you help?

Help to support the identified actions . Get in touch if you need advice about invasive alien plants you might have on your property.

 » Get involved with citizen science and record your sightings of alien plants

Record your sightings of carnivores on the Atlasing in Namibia website or the Atlasing in Namibia app.

Contact

Secretariat services are currently provided by NCE: admin@n-c-e.org.

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