INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES AND PROTECTED AREAS A SCOPING REPORT Produced for the World Bank as a contribution to the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP) March 2007 PART I SCOPING THE SCALE AND NATURE OF INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES THREATS TO PROTECTED AREAS, IMPEDIMENTS TO IAS MANAGEMENT AND MEANS TO ADDRESS THOSE IMPEDIMENTS. Produced by Maj De Poorter (Invasive Species Specialist Group of the Species Survival Commission of IUCN - The World Conservation Union) with additional material by Syama Pagad (Invasive Species Specialist Group of the Species Survival Commission of IUCN - The World Conservation Union) and Mohammed Irfan Ullah (Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Bangalore, India, [email protected]) Disclaimer: the designation of geographical entities in this report does not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN, ISSG, GISP (or its Partners) or the World Bank, concerning the legal status of any country, territory or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delineation of its frontiers or boundaries. 1 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...........................................................................................4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...........................................................................................6 GLOSSARY ..................................................................................................................9 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................12 1.1 Invasive alien species.........................................................................................12 1.2 Invasive alien species in protected areas............................................................14 1.3 Why this scoping report on invasive alien species in protected areas? .............15 1.4 Aims of this scoping ..........................................................................................16 2 INFORMATION COLLECTED, COLLATED AND ANALYSED FOR THIS SCOPING REPORT....................................................................................................17 2.1 Pilot sample of information on IAS in protected areas (Pilot sample) ..............17 2.2 Global Invasive Species Database (GISD) query..............................................18 2.3 Combined result from several Ramsar searches (Ramsar query)......................19 2.4 Countries/Regions for this scoping....................................................................20 2.5 Information From IUCN MPA Survey (2005) ..................................................21 3 SCOPING RESULT: AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION ON INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES IN PROTECTED AREAS.............................................................22 3.1 Prioritising.........................................................................................................22 3.2 Global level........................................................................................................22 3.3 Regional.............................................................................................................24 3.4 Information at national level and for individual sites........................................25 3.5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................25 4 SCOPING RESULTS: SITES, COUNTRIES, IAS SPECIES................................27 4.1 Overall result......................................................................................................27 4.2 Number of protected areas in the records, where invasive alien species are recorded as an issue..................................................................................................27 4.3 Number of countries in the records that have protected area(s) where invasive alien species are recorded as an issue ......................................................................28 4.4 Number of IAS species recorded as an issue for protected areas ......................29 4.5 Discussion: number of sites, number of countries, number of IAS..................31 4.6 IAS threats from within the wider landscape vs. threats from within the site itself ......................................................................................................................32 4.7 Native invasive species issues ...........................................................................32 4.8 Information on protected area types...................................................................34 4.9 Wetlands of international importance (Ramsar sites)........................................34 4.10 World Heritage sites.........................................................................................36 4.11 Biosphere Reserves..........................................................................................37 4.12 Other types of sites...........................................................................................37 4.13 IUCN Categories.............................................................................................38 4.14 Our results are only "the top of the iceberg"....................................................39 5 SCOPING RESULTS: IAS IMPACTS IN PROTECTED AREAS.......................41 5.1 Introduction........................................................................................................41 5.2 Effects of disturbance, small size and/or isolation of protected areas...............42 5.3 Impact Types in the GISD query .......................................................................42 5.4 Uncertainty of impacts.......................................................................................44 6 SCOPING RESULT: IMPACT IN DIFFERENT HABITAT / ECOSYSTEMS....46 6.1 Undisturbed habitats and successionally advanced communities......................46 6.2 Island and freshwater systems............................................................................46 2 6.3 Continental situations.........................................................................................47 6.4 The marine environment....................................................................................48 6.5 Mountain and wilderness areas..........................................................................48 6.6 Overall Conclusion ............................................................................................49 7 SCOPING RESULT: ASSESSMENT OF FUTURE TRENDS ..............................50 7.1 IAS issues caused by designation of a site.........................................................50 7.2 Trade and travel .................................................................................................51 7.3 Other global change...........................................................................................51 7.4 Time delays........................................................................................................52 7.5 Conclusion .........................................................................................................52 8 SCOPING RESULTS: IMPEDIMENTS/CHALLENGES TO ADDRESSING IAS IN PA(S) ......................................................................................................................53 8.1 Sources of Information used..............................................................................53 8.2 Pilot sample results ............................................................................................53 8.3 Marine survey results.........................................................................................56 8.4 Expert Comments...............................................................................................57 8.5 Discussion based on the findings in the marine survey, pilot sample, expert comments and literature...........................................................................................57 8.6 Summary : Impediments, challenges, and how to address them .......................61 9 SCOPING SOLUTIONS: DEVELOP AND FOSTER CAPACITY TO MAINSTREAM IAS ISSUES INTO PROTECTED AREAS MANAGEMENT.....63 9.1 Introduction........................................................................................................63 9.2 IAS issues in PA management effectiveness evaluation ...................................63 9.3 IAS issues in assessing site value and vulnerability.........................................64 9.4 Mainstreaming IAS issues into protected area management.............................64 10 SCOPING SOLUTIONS: DEVELOP AND FOSTER CAPACITY FOR EFFECTIVE IAS MANAGEMENT AT SITE OR SYSTEM LEVEL ......................67 10.1 Adaptive Management Approach ....................................................................67 10.2 Prevention, risk assessment, early detection and rapid response.....................67 10.3 Eradication and control....................................................................................70 10.4 Prioritising........................................................................................................70 10.5 Other issue of importance to IAS management at site level............................71 11 SCOPING SOLUTIONS: DEVELOP AND FOSTER AWARENESS.................73 11. 1 Awareness raising is a critical component of IAS management.....................73 11.2 Awareness at all levels.....................................................................................73 11.3 Monitoring and Evaluation