McConnachie, AJDe Wit, MPHill, MPByrne, MJ2007-06-122007-06-122003-09McConnachie, AJ, et al. 2003. Economic evaluation of the successful biological control of Azolla filiculoides in South Africa. Biological Control, vol 28 (1), pp 25-321049-9644http://hdl.handle.net/10204/559Copyright: 2003 Elsevier Science (USA)Azolla filiculoides (red water fern) is a floating fern native to South America which has invaded aquatic ecosystems in South Africa. Thick mats of A. filiculoides on dams and slow-moving water bodies cause economic losses to water-users. Affected water users were surveyed using a questionnaire to assess the importance of the weed. Among those most seriously affected were farming (71%), recreational (24%), and municipal (5%) users. The average water area covered by A. filiculoides (per water-user) was 2.17 ha, with an expansion rate of 1.33 ha per year. The frond-feeding weevil Stenopelmus rufinasus was released as a biological control agent at the end of 1997. Within 3 years, the weevil had reduced the weed population to the point that it was no longer considered a problem in South Africa. The results reflect the dynamics of biological control on site-specific survey information, and place higher benefit–cost ratios achieved in other national level studies in a better context. It also raises the important policy question of who is responsible to finance such control programs in future, because on-site benefits of control are enough to justify the program in its own right. The paper concludes with recommendations on a financial mechanism to address biological control of invasive species in a sustainable manner.enRed waterfernsStenopelmus rufinasusBenefit-cost ratiosArticleMcConnachie, A., De Wit, M., Hill, M., & Byrne, M. (2003). Economic evaluation of the successful biological control of Azolla filiculoides in South Africa. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/559McConnachie, AJ, MP De Wit, MP Hill, and MJ Byrne "Economic evaluation of the successful biological control of Azolla filiculoides in South Africa." (2003) http://hdl.handle.net/10204/559McConnachie A, De Wit M, Hill M, Byrne M. Economic evaluation of the successful biological control of Azolla filiculoides in South Africa. 2003; http://hdl.handle.net/10204/559.TY - Article AU - McConnachie, AJ AU - De Wit, MP AU - Hill, MP AU - Byrne, MJ AB - Azolla filiculoides (red water fern) is a floating fern native to South America which has invaded aquatic ecosystems in South Africa. Thick mats of A. filiculoides on dams and slow-moving water bodies cause economic losses to water-users. Affected water users were surveyed using a questionnaire to assess the importance of the weed. Among those most seriously affected were farming (71%), recreational (24%), and municipal (5%) users. The average water area covered by A. filiculoides (per water-user) was 2.17 ha, with an expansion rate of 1.33 ha per year. The frond-feeding weevil Stenopelmus rufinasus was released as a biological control agent at the end of 1997. Within 3 years, the weevil had reduced the weed population to the point that it was no longer considered a problem in South Africa. The results reflect the dynamics of biological control on site-specific survey information, and place higher benefit–cost ratios achieved in other national level studies in a better context. It also raises the important policy question of who is responsible to finance such control programs in future, because on-site benefits of control are enough to justify the program in its own right. The paper concludes with recommendations on a financial mechanism to address biological control of invasive species in a sustainable manner. DA - 2003-09 DB - ResearchSpace DP - CSIR KW - Red waterferns KW - Stenopelmus rufinasus KW - Benefit-cost ratios LK - https://researchspace.csir.co.za PY - 2003 SM - 1049-9644 T1 - Economic evaluation of the successful biological control of Azolla filiculoides in South Africa TI - Economic evaluation of the successful biological control of Azolla filiculoides in South Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10204/559 ER -