In Decreasing Order of Desirability, the Main Management Options Are

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