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      The regulation of alien species in South Africa

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          Abstract

          A key global change challenge is to significantly reduce the risks of alien taxa causing harmful impacts without compromising the rights of citizens. As part of efforts to address this challenge, South Africa promulgated comprehensive regulations and lists of alien taxa in 2014. In this paper, we review how the lists developed, changed overtime, and how they have been implemented. As of March 2021, 560 taxa were listed under four broad regulatory categories, and between 2014 and 2020, almost 3000 permits were issued to regulate the continued use of listed taxa. The full lists of regulated taxa, permits issued, and corresponding regulations are available in the Supplementary material. A proposed standardised, transparent, and science-informed process to revise the regulatory lists is also presented - as of 30 April 2024, risk analyses have been developed for 140 taxa using the Risk Analysis for Alien Taxa (RAAT) framework and reviewed by an independent scientific body [the Alien Species Risk Analysis Review Panel (ASRARP)] with input from taxon-specific experts. These recommendations are being considered by an interdepartmental governmental decision-making body established in March 2023 [the Risk Analysis Review Committee (RARC)]. Finally, key issues with the listing of alien taxa in South Africa that remain to be resolved are presented. As South Africa's regulatory framework continues to develop, the process of listing and regulating alien taxa will, we believe, become more transparent, consistent, and acceptable to stakeholders, and ultimately facilitate efforts to reduce the harmful impacts of alien taxa. SIGNIFICANCE: The regulation of alien species is a major part of how South Africa addresses biological invasions. For this process to be effective, relevant stakeholders need to be engaged and involved. This paper outlines how species have been regulated in the past, provides regulatory lists in accessible formats, and analyses how the lists have changed over time. A transparent, science-informed process to update the regulatory lists is presented and progress to date reviewed. This process aims to engage interested and affected parties in efforts to preserve the benefits of alien species while reducing the harmful impacts of invasions.

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          No saturation in the accumulation of alien species worldwide

          Although research on human-mediated exchanges of species has substantially intensified during the last centuries, we know surprisingly little about temporal dynamics of alien species accumulations across regions and taxa. Using a novel database of 45,813 first records of 16,926 established alien species, we show that the annual rate of first records worldwide has increased during the last 200 years, with 37% of all first records reported most recently (1970–2014). Inter-continental and inter-taxonomic variation can be largely attributed to the diaspora of European settlers in the nineteenth century and to the acceleration in trade in the twentieth century. For all taxonomic groups, the increase in numbers of alien species does not show any sign of saturation and most taxa even show increases in the rate of first records over time. This highlights that past efforts to mitigate invasions have not been effective enough to keep up with increasing globalization.
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            Projecting the continental accumulation of alien species through to 2050

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                Author and article information

                Journal
                sajs
                South African Journal of Science
                S. Afr. j. sci.
                Academy of Science of South Africa (Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa )
                0038-2353
                1996-7489
                June 2024
                : 120
                : 5-6
                : 1-14
                Affiliations
                [01] Cape Town orgnameKirstenbosch Research Centre orgdiv1South African National Biodiversity Institute South Africa
                [02] Stellenbosch orgnameStellenbosch University orgdiv1Department of Botany and Zoology orgdiv2Centre for Invasion Biology South Africa
                Article
                S0038-23532024000300013 S0038-2353(24)12000500013
                10.17159/sajs.2024/17002
                3a8600a6-1fea-41b2-b83b-98b5b5e312f5

                This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

                History
                : 07 November 2023
                : 26 March 2024
                : 26 March 2024
                Page count
                Figures: 0, Tables: 0, Equations: 0, References: 77, Pages: 14
                Product

                SciELO South Africa

                Categories
                Review Article

                global change,invasive alien species,biosecurity,biological invasions,regulatory lists

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