Download Lecture 16 increasingly less desirable ecologically and increasingly costly economically.

Lecture 16
Management of Invasive species represents a series of choices that become
increasingly less desirable ecologically and increasingly costly economically.
In decreasing order of desirability, the main management options are:
Prevention
Laws and policies
Risk Assessment to identify pathways and high priority vectors
Quarantine – restrict trade with high risk areas
Eradication
Complete removal of all propagules and restoration of ecosystems
Control
Limits the ecological / economic costs below some arbitrary threshold
Mechanical / Chemical / Biological
The most cost effective management technique is always going to be PREVENTION
When you look at the hypothetical invasion curve, the detectability of many invasive
species occurs after the point where they can be effectively be eradicated. Many are
not feasible for eradication at any point because of technical or economic issues.
Law and Policy Governing Invasive Species in the US
• Multiple levels (International, Federal, State)
• International
• World Trade Organization, main objective is reducing barriers to
international trade. Treaty policies may not be compatible with laws
regarding prevention of invasions
• Multilateral e.g., CBD under the UN Environment Programme
• Bilateral – Canada / US agreements on ballast discharge
• Federal - Plethora of laws and administering agencies
• State - Tangled web of conflicting laws and policies. May run counter to
federal initiatives, or in some cases, are stronger than federal laws.
The framework for governing invasive species in the US is very inefficient
• At the federal level:
• Having many federal agencies involved with various aspects concerning
management of invasive species leads to a plethora of problems.
• Jurisdictional arguments
• Duplication of programs
• Unnecessary red-tape
• Programs in one agency conflict with those in another
• Agreement and collaboration among agencies difficult if they have
different federally-imposed mandates.
New Zealand has used a different approach. Folded responsibility for all invasive
species issues into a single agency, The Ministry of BioSecurity