Abstract:
This study assesses the efficiency of contractors hired by the Natural Resource Management
programme of the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA:NRM) in clearing invasive alien
plants. We analyse the efficiencies of 49 contractors in two catchments for three time periods, namely
2003 to 2006, 2007 to 2010 and 2011 to 2014. It was found that the size of the contract areas allocated
for clearing decreased slightly from 2003 to 2014, while the unit costs (in real terms) have increased
considerably. A reason for the increase in the costs can be attributed, among others, to the increase
in the infestation densities of stands, because the more densely the infestation is, the more time is
required to clear a hectare (Pd/ha) and hence the higher the costs of clearing (R/ha). This is an
important observation, as it suggests that focusing on early restoration will further accelerate the
clearing of invasive alien plants (IAPs) towards achieving the desired targets.
