South Africa’s Centre for Invasion Biology: An Experiment in Invasion Science for Society

Abstract

This chapter describes the establishment of a Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology in South Africa, and reviews how its structure and functioning has evolved over time. The Centre has been guided in its activities by a set of principles that included conducting research on biological invasions that is world-class but relevant to South Africa, embracing interdisciplinarity, and bridging the gap between the natural and social sciences. The performance of the Centre has been assessed using five broad key performance areas (Research; Education and training; Networking; Information brokerage; and Service provision), and we use this as a framework for describing the Centre's achievements over the 15 years since its establishment in 2004. The Centre has consistently exceeded its annual target of between 60 and 80 peer-reviewed publications per year. Between the inception of the Centre in 2004 and the end of 2018, 1745 peer-reviewed papers with Centre-affiliated authors were published in journals listed on the Web of Science, and many important contributions to the field globally have been made. Up to the end of 2018, 129 Master's degrees and 64 PhDs have been awarded, and 67 post-doctoral associates have been supported. Many of the Centre's graduates are now employed in the environmental management sector, in South Africa and abroad. The Centre has also built substantial networks in the field, both locally and globally. This has been achieved by establishing formal partnerships with government institutions; hosting external staff in key biodiversity management positions; appointing national and international research associates; hosting themed workshops; and establishing and participating in taxon- or issue-specific working groups. The extent of these networks is reflected in the wide range of researchers who co-authored papers with the Centre's members (the 1729 ISI-accredited, peer-reviewed publications produced by the C∙I∙B to the end of 2018 included 4237 authors from 110 countries). Information brokerage and knowledge transfer has been promoted through publications, scientific talks, media interactions, newspaper articles, popular articles, popular talks, the Centre's web page, and social media platforms. The Centre has also made important inputs to the development of policy and legislation in the field, and has supported management in many areas across the country. Although not all of the Centre's ultimate goals have been met (for example, invasive species continue to spread, and to impact on people's livelihoods, and public understanding of problems associated with invasions is still weak), the South African Centres of Excellence model has provided an example of how limited resources can be effectively leveraged to better understand problems of the environment, and to develop the understanding and capacity to manage them.