FAO launched today a three-year Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control to scale up efforts to curb the growing spread of the invasive pest which is causing serious damage to food production and affecting millions of farmers across the world. Fall Armyworm (FAW), a crop pest native to the Americas, has rapidly spread through Africa, and to the Near East and Asia in the past four years. "It (Fall Armyworm) threatens food security of hundreds of millions of people and the livelihoods of smallholder farmers," said FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu. He made the remarks at the launch of the Global Action on the sidelines of the FAO's Council, the Organization's executive body. "This is a global threat that requires a global perspective," he stressed, urging the FAO member states "to greatly scale up the existing efforts" to prevent the further spread of this harmful pest to new regions.
Africa
Spotlights
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UN. Food and Agriculture Organization.
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JRS Biodiversity Foundation.The Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI) has published one of the most complete and current datasets on Invasive Alien Plants (IAP) in East and Southern Africa. This extraordinary dataset is already being translated into new research findings and conservation action on the ground.
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CAB International.
Plans towards developing a comprehensive strategy that will enable Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to deal more proactively and effectively with invasive species have advanced significantly. This milestone has been achieved through a recently concluded workshop co-organised by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and CABI, with support from the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC).
Selected Resources
The section below contains highly relevant resources for this locaton, organized by source. Or, to display all related content view all resources for Africa.
Council or Task Force
Partnership
CABI Africa.
Synthesis Report of the UNEP/GEF Removing Barriers to Invasive Plant Management in Africa (RBIPMA) Project, implemented in four African countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Uganda and Zambia) between 2005 and 2010.
Global Invasive Species Programme.
See also: GISP Publications and Reports for additional reports for Africa
United Kingdom Government. Department for Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs. Darwin Initiative for the Survival of Species.
The purpose of the project was to develop a framework for monitoring the impacts of invasive tree species on biodiversity in rural communities of Ghana (Project No. 162/9/019; 2000-2003).
Submitted by: Centre for Natural Resources and Development, NatureBureau International; Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford; Forestry Research Institute of Ghana; Ghana Organic Agriculture Network; Suntaa-Nuntaa Agroforestry
UN. FAO. Forestry Department.
The FAO Forestry Department Working Papers report on issues and activities related to the conservation, sustainable use and management of forest resources. The purpose of these papers is to provide early information on on-going activities and programmes, and to stimulate discussion. This paper is one of a series of FAO documents on forestry-related biosecurity issues.
UN. Food and Agriculture Organization.
FISNA was created in 2004 to coordinate the collation and dissemination of information relating to forest invasive species in sub-Saharan Africa for sustainable forest management and conservation of biodiversity.
East African Network for Taxonomy.
This interactive Lucid key and accompanying fact sheets provides a resource that can help those who wish to identify species of concern and to undertake management efforts to minimise their impact. Provides information for 100 of the most important invasive plant species in the East African Region.
CAB International.
See the people and communities from Africa and around the world who are affected by invasive species.
Invasive Species South Africa.
International Government
South African National Biodiversity Institute.
The Invasive Species Programme (ISP) aims to detect invasive species; assess the risk these species pose to South Africa and attempt eradication of high risk species with limited distribution.
Republic of South Africa. Water Affairs Department.
The fight against invasive alien plants is spearheaded by the Working for Water (WfW) programme, launched in 1995 and administered through the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.