Indian Invasive Forest Weeds

Exotic species invasion has been identified as one of the biggest threats to biological diversity around the globe, second only to habitat destruction. Weeds, owing to inherent properties of efficient nutrient uptake and use, easily invade disturbed land with adverse effects on the ecosystem. They thus pose a serious challenge to sustainable management of forest ecosystems, and to the conservation of biodiversity.

This beautifully produced book* is the proceedings of a workshop which concluded a project funded by DFID (UK Department for International Development) and conducted by Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) and CABI Bioscience. The project studied the invasion of the weed Mikania micrantha in the Western Ghats in southern India, and involved mapping the distribution and spread of Mikania, evaluating its socioeconomic impact, and evaluating pathogens for potential as biocontrol agents. The workshop gave an opportunity to draw together the findings of the project, but by providing a meeting ground for scientists, foresters, agriculturalists and policy makers and allowing them to share experiences, exchange views and evolve strategies for controlling weeds, it was an opportunity to review the overall situation in India.

This publication, then, reviews the population characteristics, taxonomy and ecology of the major moist forest weeds in India and their management aspects. It provides an insight into the current status of weed invasions in the moist tropical zones in India and the challenges they present. Dr S.P. Singh's keynote address reviews past programmes of classical biological control for invasive weeds in India, but concludes that further efforts are now needed to fine-tune the technology evolved in these projects. The next paper (S.T. Murphy) reviews the characters of invasive alien weeds in tropical rainforest zones and their range dynamics, and discusses the consequences for long-term impact in different landscapes and how this has to be related to management strategies. P.S. Ramakrishnan then sets the Indian experience in the larger global context of land use change. He stresses that the interconnected dimensions of biological invasion demand an integrated view, linking the ecological and social processes determining land use dynamics.

The remaining 18 papers deal with the current distribution, impact in terms of costs and benefits, and management of invasive moist forest weeds in India including Chromolaena odorata, Lantana camara, M. micrantha, Parthenium hysterophorus and Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth). The papers focus on different parts of the country (Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Northeastern India) and cover a range of ecosystems (tea, agroforestry and wetland systems) and include specific cases such as wildlife sanctuaries. The whole range of management options is also considered, from biological methods including classical biological control and bio-pesticides, to chemical methods and botanicals, to integrated management.

The proceedings conclude with a series of recommendations for action against the weeds identified at the workshop as the most serious threat to the moist tropical zones of India.

*Sankaran, K.V.; Murphy, S.T.; Evans, H.C. (eds) (2001) Alien weeds in moist tropical zones: banes and benefits. Proceedings of a workshop, Kerala, India, 2-4 November 1999. Peechi, Kerala, India/Ascot, UK; Kerala Forest Research Institute/CABI Bioscience, 172 pp.

Contact: Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi - 680 653, Kerala, India
Email: sankaran@kfri.org

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West African Cocoa Workshop

The English version of the proceedings of a West African cocoa workshop, held in Cotonou, Benin in November 2001, is available on the Internet*. The French version in is preparation, and both will then be printed. Jointly organized by CABI Bioscience and IITA (the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture) and sponsored by STCP (the Sustainable Tree Crops Program) and BCCCA (the Biscuit, Cake, Chocolate and Confectionery Alliance, UK), it provided scientists from West African cocoa-producing countries a platform to exchange ideas [see BNI 23(1), 14N-15N (March 2002) 'West African recipe for cocoa IPM'].

The proceedings begin with papers outlining current STCP, BCCA and DFID (UK Department of International Development) research programmes in West Africa. Two further introductory papers describe biological control of pests and diseases of tropical tree crops, focusing on cocoa and coffee, and farmer participatory approaches to cocoa IPM implementation. Next, country papers from Benin, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea Conakry and Nigeria provide an up to date summary of the status of pest and disease problems, and research and its implementation in West Africa.

The subsequent part of the proceedings is devoted to regional and national workshop sessions, which provided the mechanism for identifying key constraints to cocoa production in the region, and capacities and gaps in regional capabilities for tackling them. This leads into a final section, which includes both the summary of on-going and potential regional cocoa IPM research and implementation, and the proposal for follow-up cocoa IPM research drawn up by participants.

*Vos, J.; Neuenschwander, P. (2002) West Africa regional cocoa IPM workshop, Cotonou, Benin, 13-15 November 2001. Egham, UK/Cotonou Benin; CABI Bioscience/IITA, 77 pp.

Download from:
www.cabi-commodities.org/Acc/ACCrc/ACCrc.htm

Contact: Janny Vos, CABI Bioscience UK Centre, Bakeham Lane, Egham, Surrey, TW20 9TY, UK
Email: J.Vos@cabi.org
Fax: +44 1491 829100

Peter Neuenschwander, Director, Plant Health Management Division, IITA, 08 BP 0932, Tri Postal, Cotonou, Benin
Email: P.Neuenschwander@cgiar.org
Fax: +229 350556

 

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