The contribution of Argentine biodiversity to weed control glabally and specifically South Africa through clasical biological control

M. HILL; J. COETZEE; I.D. PATERSON ; G.D. MARTIN; A.J. SOSA; F. MCKAY; L. VARONE; G. CABRERA WALSH

Mendoza

Congreso; X Congreso Argentino de Entomología; 2018

Sociedad Entomológica Argentina/UNC/CONICET

Invasive alien plant species result in landscape scale degradation of ecosystems in their adventive ranges. Classical biological control offers a sustainable solution to invasive alien plants, but relies on access to, and sharing of biodiversity as referred to in the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) and theNagoya Protocol. There are many invasive alien plant species around the world that have originated in the warm temperate to subtropical regions of South America, including Argentina. Argentina has also provide a number of species for biological control of weeds around the world and an analysis of the World Catalogue of their Agents and their Target Weeds shows that some 55 agent species that have been released around the world as classical biological control agents for weeds have their origins in Argentina. More specifically, South Africa and southern Africa have benefitted through the release of some 18 species from Argentina, including some highly successful programmes on water hyacinth, cacti and Sesbanina punicea. Argentina have several species of invasive alien plants, in particular grasses, which originate in southern Africa and are suitable targets for biological control. Thus it is important that the equitable sharing of biodiversity for the purposes of classical biological control continues to ensure that both countries meet their Convention on Biodiversity Aichi Target 9 on the control of invasive alien species.