Horizons

The plight of African wetlands: Invasive species are devastating Africa's wetlands, crowding out native species and costing billions of dollars in environmental and economic damage, according to a new report from the World Conservation Union, an international grouping of conservation organisations.

Non-native species, such as the South American water hyacinth, are causing immense damage to Lake Victoria among others. A rapidly growing plant, the water hyacinth blocks waterways and prevents sunlight and oxygen from reaching submerged plants. Similarly, the Louisiana crawfish, originally brought to Africa for aquaculture, is responsible for the disappearance of water lilies and submerged vegetation as well as many species of snail in the wetlands of eastern and southern Africa. In Ireland we are familiar with damage caused by non-native species. For example, the rapid growth of rhododendrons in counties Kerry and Donegal has brought about the destruction of habitats. See http://ens-news.com for information on the new booklet, Invasive Alien Species in Africa's Wetlands.

Among the trees: Fifteen thousand trees will be distributed to community groups and schools by local authorities throughout National Tree Week which begins tomorrow. This year's theme, Clean Air - Grow Your Share, reflects the concerns for global warming and the importance of trees in combating it. On Thursday, Donal Synnott, director of the National Botanic Gardens, Terry O'Regan, landscape and environment consultant, conservationist, Declan Doogue and John Fennessy, forester, will address the Institute of Horticulture's Spring Conference in All Hallows College, Drumcondra, Dublin. (Tel: 086-3820669 for details). The Tree Council of Ireland's annual exhibition of entries for the National Tree Week poster competition runs in ENFO, Andrew Street, Dublin from tomorrow until March 21st. See www.treecouncil.ie or your local Spar shop for details of activities.

Green Party on the paper trail: When Green Party TD and spokesperson on the environment, Ciarán Cuffe filed questions to all Government departments, he discovered that using recycled paper was certainly not a priority in many departments. Three Government departments did not buy any recycled paper last year, while others used as little as seven to 10 per cent recycled paper. The Department of the Environment did however claim, that, in most cases, 97 to 100 per cent of stationery it used was recycled. Disappointingly, Met Éireann, which should understand the importance of trees in climate matters, used recycled paper only about 50 per cent of the time. Reporting to the Dáil, Cuffe described the results as "shocking but not surprising". Friends of the Irish Environment said that if the Government took the lead on this issue, more would follow suit. Meanwhile, the Green Party is requesting written replies from all Government departments on their plans to use more recycled stationery.