Download The Future of Alien Invasive Species: Changing Social Views Jeffrey

The Future of Alien Invasive Species:
Changing Social Views Jeffrey A. McNeely
Presented by Ed Dyson
Some background…
• Jeffrey McNeely is currently Chief Scientist at
IUCN (The World Conservation Union)
• Widely published, especially on the
relationship between agriculture and
biodiversity
• Not the same as Jeff McNeely who played for
the Boston Red Sox 1989-93.
UN Convention on Biological
Diversity
Article 8h:
“Prevent the introduction of, control or
eradicate those alien species which
threaten ecosystems, habitats or
species.”
Q. What is an alien species? CBD offers no
definition…
American grey squirrel (Sciurus
carolinensis)
•
•
•
introduced into the British Isles
and Italy as a pet
severe damage to forests and
commercial tree plantations by
bark-stripping
replacing the native red squirrel
(S. vulgaris) through
competitive exclusion and is
also suspected of being a
source of parapoxvirus, lethal
to the red squirrel.
[From online article by GISP staff Kobie Brandt]
Atlantic comb jelly (Mnemiopsis leidyi)
•
•
transported via ballast
water from the east USA
to the Black Sea
caused a sharp decrease
in all life forms, especially
pelagic fish and
zooplankton, leading to
collapse of fisheries in the
region.
[From online article by GISP staff Kobie Brandt]
GISP – the Global Invasive Species
Programme
• 1996 – 1st UN meeting on IAS recommended a global
strategy and mechanism
• 1997 GISP established. Phase I: global
assessments; global strategy; toolkit and
database.
• 2000 GISP Phase II: facilitating implementation
• 2001 GISP releases a “call to action” at a CBD submeeting
• CBD COP9 in May 2008 will include a review of
implementation on AIS
Outline of Jeff McNeely’s paper
Invasive Alien Species - not a new issue but:
• Globalisation of trade means massive increase in
species crossing natural boundaries
• Costs and benefits are complex and unequally
distributed
• This global problem needs a “global solution” – action
by international institutions (CBD, WHO, GATT etc)
Historical perspective
• Australian aborigines brought the dingo
• Polynesians sailed with pigs, taro, yams and more
than 30 species of plant (plus rats as stowaways)
• European colonisation of the Americas: barley, cattle,
horses etc
• Steam ships: over 50m Europeans emigrated, with
many species of plants and animals
• Modern globalisation: exponential increase in such
incidents
Why does it happen?
Three categories (Levin, 1989):
• Accidental introductions (eg. rats)
• Deliberate introductions (eg. Australian
acacia to South Africa)
• Imported species that escape (eg. Muntjac
deer in UK)
Consequences…
…are complex, often unforseen, and mainly
bad:
• Biodiversity loss: extinction and vulnerability to
predation/pests; habitat change and degradation;
homogenisation of ecosystems
• Socio-economic: in many countries, human dietary
needs are met by introduced species (barley, wheat,
potatoes…). But pests, disease and loss of species
mean a high cost to humans. Zoonoses also a
problem.
Cost-benefit analysis?
An example from the Western Cape Province, South Africa
(Van Wilgen et al. 1996): effects of alien plants on water
resources in mountain catchment areas…
Original vegetation = Fynbos (shrubland)
•Binds soil and prevents erosion
•Low biomass conserves water and prevents highintensity fires
•Fynbos-clad catchments provide 2/3 of Western
Cape’s water
•$18-19.5bn (1993) in flowers and thatching grass,
employing 20-30k people
However, after deliberate introduction in C19th of species such as
Australian acacias (for dune stabilisation, timber, firewood and
tannins)
• Displacement of
Fynbos
• Increased biomass
(50-1000%)
• Reduced water
runoff
• Increased fire
intensity and soil
erosion
Van Wilgen used a computerised
model to show:
•Alien plants would invade 40% of the
area within 50yrs (80% in 100yrs)
•30-50% loss of water supply to Cape
Town
Cost of water = $.12m3
with preventive
management; $.14 without
Links with climate change?
• Cheap fuel helps the introduction of alien
species (ie. it is part of the same problem).
• Native species/ecosystems, struggling to
adapt to climate change and global warming,
could be vulnerable to new species
• CC will itself affect the distribution of many
species
Facing the facts
• Biodiversity in any site is bound to vary over
time. [What is a “natural” landscape?]
• But with human activity (global trade, climate
change) this process has accelerated
• And there are real costs to us
• So we should do something!
A global solution?
• Global institutions should help
us tackle the problem (invasive
species issues are relevant to
all these institutions)
• But in fact the links between
trade and biodiversity are not
properly integrated
Q. Why should this be?
•Convention on
Biological Diversity
(CBD)
•World Trade
Organisation (WTO)
•General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade
(GATT)
•UN Conference on
Trade and
Development (UNCED)
•UN Framework
Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC)
•UNCLOS…
McNeely’s recommendations
• Get CBD to focus more effectively on invasive species
• Get WTO to focus on the issues (eg. via a statement from the
CBD)
• Build on experience of countries (such as US, Australia and NZ)
to help developing countries
• Integrate economics into international invasive species
programmes
• In each country quantify costs and benefits
• Use economic instruments (grants, taxes, fines etc) to ensure
better compliance
Some questions for discussion
• What do you think of McNeely’s
recommendations? Are they feasible?
• Do you agree with his analysis?
• What are “natural” ecosystems, and what are the
prospects for protecting them?
Note: I can email links to further information if you are
interested. The GISP website is especially useful.