Public knowledge on invasive alien plants and biological control in the southern hemisphere

GERVAZONI, PAULA B.; SOSA, A.J.; COETZEE, JULIE A.; BERTUCCI, SABRINA; FRANCESCHINI M. CELESTE

Puerto Iguazú

Simposio; nternational Symposium on biological control of weeds. Session Community Engagement and Education; 2023

FuEDEI y CERZOS (CONICET), International Organisation for Biological Control (IOBC)

Invasive alien plants (IAPs) are one of the causes of massive biodiversity loss andecosystem imbalances and consequently involve high management costs. Currently, theimportance of the social dimension within the problem of IAPs is increasingly recognized,since the inclusion of public opinion and participation is crucial to decelerate the spread ofIAPs as well as to demand action from decision makers. Likewise, social perception ofIAPs has also a big impact on the success of biocontrol programs. In this study, we assessedi) social perceptions of IAPs and Biological control in four countries of the southernhemisphere, with contrasting situations regarding IAPs management (longer vs shorterhistory of biological control of weeds applications), and ii) public awareness of the invasionof Iris pseudacorus L (Iridaceae), a European IAP that causes major impacts on wetlandsof all the evaluated countries. By sharing a questionnaire on social media, 1527 responseswere obtained from volunteers from South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina and Uruguay.Respondents from Argentina and Uruguay were less familiar with the terms IAP andBiological Control. Likewise, less than half of them knew of examples of theimplementation of biological control against weeds in their country. This number wassignificantly higher in South Africa and New Zealand. There were also considerabledifferences between countries in terms of public awareness of the alien invasive status of I.pseudacorus, which was lower in respondents from Argentina and Uruguay. This factbecomes more relevant when considering that Argentina and Uruguay are countries with ahigher level of invasion and impacts from this plant than South Africa. The greaterknowledge about IAPs and biological control in countries such as South Africa and NewZealand can be related to their longer weed biological tradition. Our results showcontrasting situations regarding social perception of IAPs and biological control amongcountries. Likewise, they allow us for a first diagnosis regarding public awareness of thosetopics, which can be used to demand more investment on environmental educationregarding IAPs and biological control in the studied South American countries.