A Plague of Cactus

CABI's Dr Arne Witt with a Masai man in Laikipia, Kenya, an area severely affected by invasive Opuntia.
By Susan Moran. Reblogged from bioGraphic. Across Kenya’s wildlife-rich Laikipia Plateau, a thorny enemy is advancing. But a tiny sap-sucking insect may help save the region’s animals and people. Before the sun has peeked above the horizon, Philip Nangoo Larpei, a Maasai elder in his 60s or 70s (he hasn’t kept track), is already outside checking…
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CABI works in partnership to help rid UNESCO Natural World Heritage site Socotra of common pest pear Opuntia stricta

Invasive species experts from CABI have been working in partnership with a range of international organisations, including more than 200 members of a local community and a musical band, to help get rid of the common pest pear Opuntia stricta from the Socotra Archipelago, Yemen.
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Ebola and IAS

A conversation with Dr Arne Witt The recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa made headline news around the world. During the outbreak this fatal disease, endemic to parts of Central and West Africa, rapidly spread from Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia to other countries in the region such as Nigeria, Mali and…
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In the eye of the invasive species storm

17th September 2014 – Last weekend I experienced first-hand the impacts that invasive species can have. While carrying out research on an infestation of Opuntia Stricta in Laikipia, I felt something lodge itself in my eye. The following day I visited a specialist, as efforts to wash the thorn out of my eye had been…
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Green Invasion: Destroying Livelihoods in Africa [Video]

CABI, together with Tmax Productions, have produced a video called the ‘Green Invasion – Destroying Livelihoods in Africa.” The short film (approx. 7mins long) details how invasive weeds are impacting on the lives of rural communities in East Africa. Although a large number of non-native species have become invasive in the region, this film focusses on…
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