Combating Invasive Alien Plants Threatening The East Usambara
Mountains, Tanzania (project number: 162/13/033)
Annex 1: part 1
Invasive Plants in Tropical Forest Ecosystems
Workshop 2006 report
Summary
The workshop on invasive plants in tropical forest ecosystems was jointly organised by the
Tropical Biology Association, the Center for Ecology and Hydrology and Amani Nature Reserve in
conjunction with Sokoine University, Forest and Bee keeping Division and the Tanzania Forest
Research Institute. It was part of a Darwin Initiative funded project called combating alien invasive
plants threatening the East Usambaras, Tanzania.
The target group was plant ecologists and conservation scientists whose work is relevant to the
management of alien invasive plant species. The overall goal of the workshop was to build
expertise in the ecology of invasive plant species and to equip participants with field methods in
surveying and monitoring them.
Specifically, the workshop aimed to:
 teach practical skills in ecological surveys & monitoring,
 provide guidance in the use of GPS and mapping techniques,
 instruct attendees in the use of software for the analysis and display of species distribution
data,
 boost attendees’ understanding of invasive plant species ecology and management
 build institutional capacity as new skills are transferred after the workshop.
 catalyse links between forest biologists nationally and internationally.
Thirty seven applications from 12 institutions were received, including the following
countries: Benin, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana. 15
Tanzanian trainees were selected (10 males and 5 females) from 8 institutions. Only 47%
of the participants had worked on alien plants before the workshop.
Trainers came from established research and academic institutions in Tanzania and the UK.
Teaching on the workshop was interactive, ranging from lectures to field practicals to case
studies, to class discussions. The teaching on the workshop was rated excellent by 100% of the
trainees who also commented that it was well organised. A summary of all the trainee feedback is
attached in Appendix 2.
One outcome of the workshop was the suggestion for a follow-up workshop on management
and control of invasive plant species. This will be addressed in 2007.
List of Workshop trainees
Participant
Gender
Chelestino Balama
Ezekiel Edward
Martina Hagwet Boay
Zakia Hassan
Jasson John
Hamza Khalid Kija
Raymond Killenga
Wilfred Njama Marealle
Mathew Mpanda
Simon Mosha
Esther F. Mvungi
Christina M. Ngalawa
Nancy Eliad Pima
John Richard
Ahmed Mndolwa
Institution
Work position
M
M
F
F
M
M
M
M
M
Tanzania Forest Research Institute
Research Officer
Sokoine University of Agriculture
MSc Student
Collage African Wildlife ManagementMweka
Assistant Lecturer
Tanzania Forest Research Institute
Research Officer
Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania
Birdlife Officer
Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute
Research Scientist
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Assistant regional Manager
Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute
Forest and Beekeeping Division
Research Assistant II
M
F
F
F
M
M
Tanzania Forest Conservation Group
Senior Project Officer
University of Dar es Salaam
Assistant Lecturer
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Research Assistant
Tanzania Forest Research Institute
Forest Research Officer
Sokoine University of Agriculture/TAFORI
Forest Research Officer
Tanzania Forest Research Institute
Forest Research Officer
Research and Training
Officer
Trainees downloading GPS data from Clidemia hirta transect mapping
List of teachers and resource people
Name
Mr Corodius Sawe
Prof Seif Madoffe
Mr Ahmed Mndolwa
Prof Pantaleo Munishi
Dr Phil Hulme
Dr Rosie Trevelyan
Mr Mark Otieno
Mr Wayne Dawson
Institute
Amani Nature Reserve
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Tanzania Forestry Research Institute
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, UK
Tropical Biology Association Cambridge
Tropical Biology Association Nairobi
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, UK
Nationality
Tanzania
Tanzania
Tanzania
Tanzania
UK
UK
Kenya
UK
Trainees receiving field instructions Comparing methods of measuring population densities
Invasive plants in tropical forest ecosystems
Training Workshop Programme
th
Monday June 12
16:00 Participants arrive
17:00 Introduction to the course. (RT)
17:15 Invasive Plants in the Tropics: a global problem (PH)
18:30 Finish
19:15 Welcome (CS) Dinner and Introductions
th
Tuesday June 13
07:00 Breakfast
08:30 Introduction to Mapping & GPS (PH)
10:15 Coffee/tea
11:00 Field exercise using GPS
13:00 Lunch
14:00 downloading data and creating simple maps
17:00 Finish
19:00 Dinner
19:45 Lecture: Status of invasive Cedrela mexicana in Kimboza FR (SM)
th
Wednesday June 14
07:00 Breakfast
08:30 Field survey techniques and sampling (PH)
10:00 Coffee
10:30 Field Exercise: Comparing survey methods
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Results of Field Exercise: Analysis and comparisons
15:15 Group photo
15:30 Tea
16:00 Lecture: Case study of invasive species: Prosopis Invasion (PH)
17:00 Finish
19:45 Lecture: Forest invasive species network in Africa: activities & future prospects (SM)
th
Thursday 15
07:00 Breakfast
08:30 Field Trip to Amani Botanical Garden: diversity and extent of alien species
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Introduction to Transect Mapping
14:30 Transect mapping of alien species: Clidemia hirta
17:00 Finish
19:45 Lecture: Mapping Clidemia in Sinharaja Forest Reserve, Sri Lanka (PH)
th
Friday June 16
07:00 Breakfast
08:30 Analysis and Presentation of Results of Transect Mapping
10:30 Coffee
11:00 Discussion seminar: Applying new knowledge to your ecological problems
(attendees)
13:00 Lunch & Depart
field exercise on invasive plants in Amani
Appendices
th
Appendix 1: Discussion seminar, 16 June
Question 1 To what extent are invasive species a priority in your organisation
relative to other activities. (judge by level of funding, number of projects, etc.)
Most organisations have placed invasive alien species as low priority. However, TAFORI
and FBD are placing invasive species as high priority now. TAWIRI are currently
proposing to include invasive species in their next five year action plan. Other
organisations felt that invasive species are still given low priority and only addressed on
an ad hoc basis through individual’s projects.
Question 2 What invasive alien species do you think pose the greatest threat to
the forest reserves/national parks that your organisation is involved with
Maesopsis eminii
Cedrela odorata
Lantana camara
Acacia mearnsii
Opuntia (Serengeti)
Phyllostachys
Senna spectabilis (Mahale)
Senna siamea
Castilla elastica
Palms (Ngorongoro)
Melicia azaderata
Pistia (Mikumi)
Eichornia crassipes
Eucalyptus
Question 3 What do you think are the main challenges to your institution
for monitoring and managing invasive plant species in Tanzania.










Lack of skills and knowledge
Lack of financial resources
Invasives not a priority for many institutions
Lack of awareness among stakeholders
Poor dissemination of research results and information to decision makers,
ministries, and managers.
Lack of database on invasive alien species in Tanzania
Socioeconomic issues: nonnatives are seen as the only way to meet wood fuel
demands
Bureaucracy
Politics and development: treeplanting campaigns promote planting of aliens
Lack of collaboration between institutions
Question 4. What would you like to do to put your new ideas and skills into
practise after this workshop
Participants said they would like to use their new commitment and awareness to:
 transfer their new knowledge to others to build capacity in their institutions
 include issues of invasive species in teaching activities
 integrate invasive species into business or action plans
 develop research proposals to address issues of invasive species
 carry out awareness-raising activities through workshops, newsletters, journal
articles
 produce information for local people on how to mitigate threats from their
agroforestry or plantation activities
Open Discussion
Should all invasive species be seen as threatening?
 No, they need to be understood and managed appropriately.
 The costs and benefits to biodiversity should be assessed (especially if they are in
a biodiversity hotspot). For example, some alien species are beneficial since they
provide food (Maesopsis and Clidemia fruits are eaten by birds, etc) yet at the
same time may be detrimental. To bee beekeepers, Lantana camara is good for
honey production.

Researchers and managers often have different perspectives and researchers do
not always disseminate their results to the people on the ground nor take
community needs into account
Appendix 2: Workshop Participant feedback assessments
Question
Response options
a) What stage are you in your career?
Attained BSc
Doing MSc
Attained MSc
Response tallies
%respondents
7
3
5
47
20
33
3
4
8
0
20
27
53
b) How much had you used a GPS before the workshop?
1. not at all
2. a little
3.a moderate amount
4. a lot
0
Projects that GPS has been used:
 Mapping bee diversity in Tanzania
 Field work at BSc studies
 Forest timber species survey
 Distribution of Coffea species along Eastern arc mountains
 Bird monitoring in the Eastern arc mountains
 Allanblanchia stulhmanii harvesting programme survey
 Drylalnd forest survey
 Animal census in Serengeti National Park
c) How much have you worked on alien plant species
1. not at all
2. a little
3.a moderate amount
4. a lot
8
6
1
0
53
40
7
0
Projects that trainees have undertaken alien species research:
 The impact of alien plants on avifauna diversity, community structure, breeding
preferences in East Usambaras.
 Bioidiversity survey in Amani Nature Reserve with Frontier Tanzania.
 Survey of status and spread of Acacia meansii in Miombo woodlands: A case of
Tabora region.
 Assessing impact of Maesopsis eminii on fruiting and dispersal of fungi.
 TBA project on Lantana camara in Kibale Forest Uganda.
d) Where did you hear about the Darwin workshop?
1. Advert
2. TBA website
2
6
13
40
3. Email
4. Friend/colleague
5. Other
e) How did rate the teaching on the workshop?
1 Very poor
2 Poor
3 Average
4 Good
5 Excellent
7
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
15
100
f) How did you find the balance between lectures and field exercises?
1. Too many lectures
0
2. About right
15
3. Too many field exercises
0
g) How did you rate the workshop overall?
1. Very poor
2. Poor
3. Average
4. Good
5. Excellent
47
0
100
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
7
14
93
f) Would this workshop have been useful to others in your institution?
1. not useful
2. somewhat useful
3. useful
4. very useful
0
0
3
12
0
0
20
80
i) comments on the workshop:
 Participants were very interactive.
 Well organised workshop (n=15).
 I have been inspired to do my MSc on invasive plants.
 Need feedback from organisers on reports and recommendation made by
participants
 Worth adopting such a well organised workshop for conducting similar workshops
in the future
 Need more field practicals in the workshop (n=2)
 Knowledge gained will be useful to my institution
 Time was very short! Probably 10 days instead of 5 will be enough to practice what
is taught
 Invite more other related institutions that do research on conservation
 Time should be extended to 1 month
 Number of participants should be increased.
 GPS, computer and others should be given per participant
 The workshop had well balanced gender and institutional distribution.

Selection of lecturers was based on experience relevant to the workshop.
j) How will you use the knowledge and skills gained from the workshop
afterwards?
 To study the impacts of exotic species (n=3)
 Share the knowledge with colleagues and students (n=10)
 Propose the issue of invasive plants to be given higher priority in my institution
(n=3)
 Disseminate the information and knowledge attained to my institution and other
institutions (n=8)
 Write proposals on alien species and carry out researches in areas facing these
problems (n=4).
 Contribute to discussions on invasive species.
 Use knowledge to input to my MSc data analysis (n=2)
 Write leaflets and articles in dailies to create awareness on invasive species
impacts.
 Encourage the establishment of networks that deal with research, information on
invasive alien species in Tanzania.
 Publish invasive species work in peer reviewed journals
k) Would you like to participate in similar workshops in future and if so on
what topics?
 Management, monitoring and control of alien species (n=11)
 Detailed survey of invasive plants techniques (n=2)
 More GPS use on resource assessment and mapping (n=3)
 Data analysis and statistical interpretation (n=7)
 To share my knew knowledge and experiences of what I learned in the next
workshop
 Methods of disseminating information to stakeholders
 Case studies of invasive species with higher economical benefits than
conservation. Detailed GIS program application and analysis of invasive species
(n=3)
Recommendation
A general consensus from the workshop was to have another workshop on
management and control of alien species.
Learning how to use GIS
Field Exercise on monitoring techniques