LET’S CONTROL INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES

I have already written about invasive marine species, but I was surprised to find out that there are also invasive plant species. In the case of invasive marine species, it is clearly the BFAR that is in charge. But who is in charge of invasive plant species? Is it the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), or is it the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB)? My first question is, is the government fully aware or conscious about the need to control invasive plant species? My second question is, does the government know what are the species that they are supposed to control? Based on my limited research, these are large leaf mahogany, paper mulberry, Siam weed, coronitas, water hyacinth and believe it or not, ipil-ipil. Among the six, water hyacinth is the most widely known, because they are so pervasive and are seen all over the country. Two of them have been here so long that they have already acquired local names. Siam weed is known as Hagonoy, and coronitas is known as baho-baho. Water hyacinth is also commonly known as water lily. Just to be clear, not all alien plant species are invasive, and many are not destructive. I think what is important is for the government and the people to know which is which, so that we both would know if we come face to face with the problem. We know where to find the water lilies, but what about the other five? Perhaps what is needed is a location map so that we would know where to control them. IKE SENERES/02-28-2024