Abstract
We describe an initiative to improve the flow of information between researchers and managers as part of two international scientific symposia on biological invasions held in South Africa in 2008 and 2009. Formal workshops and information sessions for land managers were run during the symposia. At the end of each symposium, the managers ran dedicated question-and-answer sessions on the research they felt was needed to improve their work. We discuss the potential of such interventions to increase interaction and awareness between researchers and managers of biological invasions. The symposia certainly provided the managers with opportunities to think about broader issues and develop contacts, but problems with terminology use and the lack of solutions specific to their context tempered the value of their experience. Conversely, researchers at times under-estimated the managers perceived relevance of their presentations to management. The structured and facilitated attendance of managers of invasive plants at international conferences on invasion biology is one mechanism for at least narrowing “the gap” between science and management.
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Acknowledgments
We thank all the managers who attended and participated in the workshops; we hoped they learnt as much from the workshop as we did. In addition we thank Núria Roura-Pascual, Jaco Le Roux, Adeline Barnaud, Alana Den Breeÿen, and Mirijam Gaertner for help running the workshop and snap sessions, to Steven Chown for useful discussions throughout the process, and to Christoph Kueffer for useful comments on the manuscript. Finally, we thank all questionnaire respondents. Both symposia were supported financially by the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology, and the Working for Water Programme of the South African Department of Water and Environmental Affairs.
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Shaw, J.D., Wilson, J.R.U. & Richardson, D.M. Initiating dialogue between scientists and managers of biological invasions. Biol Invasions 12, 4077–4083 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-010-9821-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-010-9821-9