Prosopis juliflora (Mathenge) has colonised many areas of Kenya http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/
Goat-killing menace mutates to clean energy source in rural Kenya
“The plant was first introduced into the area about 25 years ago by the Kenyan government and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization to serve as a windbreak to cut erosion and slow desertification.”
In India and other regions of the world, Prosopis juliflora has long been known to affect the soil and, thereby, plant communities that it invades. Apparently we do not learn from experience. Indeed, FAO seems to be hell-bent on promoting this Prosopis juliflora, regardless of evidence of its invasiveness since at least 40 years.
Witness this extract from a booklet “Managing Prosopis juliflora (Vilayati babul)” published by DFID and downloadable from the FAO website:
“With its tremendous ability to adapt to arid and semi-arid environments,…it has long been recognized by foresters as a versatile species for afforestation. However, rural people ….are a little apprehensive of this species as (i) they consider that the species adversely affects crop growth and production; (ii) there is a fear that it may become a weed and (iii) thorny stems and branches often cause injury to humans and animals, and hinder agricultural operations.
And after all this and with no acknowledgement of how much is known about “one of the world’s worst woody invasive plant taxa,” the booklet goes on to say “Although P. juliflora is of great importance to most rural communities in arid and semi-arid tracts of India, its full potential in the rural forestry sector has not been realized to the extent that it deserves.”
I guess ecologists do not talk to “development types” or vice versa. At least in the real world.
Sudan
Mesquite (Prosopis spp.) in Sudan: history, distribution and control 2008
Desert Tree is a victim of its own success 1997
Kenya
Invasion of Prosopis juliflora and local livelihoods: Case study from the Lake Baringo area of Kenya World Agroforestry Centre, 2005
India
Scientific publications on the ecology of Prosopis in Delhi
Delhi Ridge Invaded 2007