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dam-l Alien plants invade SA/LS
>WATER RESOURCES UNDER ATTACK FROM ALIEN PLANTS
>JOHANNESBURG November 23 1998 Sapa
>
> An estimated 10 million hectares of land in South Africa are
> infested by invading alien plants, which use about 3,3 billion
> cubic metres of water more than indigenous plants would, a study
> carried out by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
> has found.
>
> The preliminary results of the study, which was commissioned by
> the Water Affairs Department and funded by the Water Affairs
> Commission, will be released on December 7 at a function in
> Pretoria, the department said in a statement.
>
> The CSIR examined the severe impact invading alien plants have on
> the country's environment and water resources, options for
> clearing them and how much that would cost, and what the likely
> benefits would be.
>
> It estimated that alien plants used up almost seven percent of the
> country's water run-off, which necessitated large-scale
> intervention.
>
> The study forms part of the department's working for water
> programme, one of the world's largest programmes to clear alien
> vegetation.
>
> It has been estimated that about 750,000 hectares of land will
> have to be cleared of alien plants annually to eliminate them over
> a period of 20 years.
>
> Left unchecked the alien plants would spread rapidly and pose a
> threat to South Africa's limited water resources and rich
> biodiversity, the statement said.
>
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Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
and Editor, World Rivers Review
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008
http://www.irn.org
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