An "invasive species" is one that is alien to the ecosystem
and causes harm to the economy, the environment, or human health.
Unintentionally transported from one country to another, invasive
species can be particularly damaging to agriculture, as recent instances
of Karnal bunt in wheat and Exotic Newcastle Disease in poultry
have demonstrated. The rising potential for invasive pest incidents,
brought about by increased global commerce, prompted ERS to launch
a research program on the economics of invasive species policies
and programs that affect food, agriculture, or natural resources,
and are managed by USDA. The research
program, which will be supported by extramural research agreements
with universities and other external cooperators, covers three critical
topic areas.
The Economics of Trade and Invasive Species: Global agricultural
trade and travel can generate economic benefits but can also increase
the risks of introducing invasive species to nonnative ecosystems.
Since invasive species can be introduced through imported products,
policies to mitigate these risks may be needed. These policies may
in turn affect commodity prices and U.S. trade. Public policy should
be designed to mitigate the economic risks to U.S. agriculture from
the introduction of invasive species, while preserving the economic
gains from trade and travel.
Bioeconomic Risk Assessments of Alternative Pests and Diseases:
Risk assessments help public agencies allocate resources among programs
that exclude, monitor, and control invasive species introductions.
Uncertainties about the establishment and spread of invasives, and
the damage they cause to crops and livestock, abound. Information
from biological, epidemiological, and other sciences must be integrated
to develop credible and concrete bioeconomic risk assessments.
Policies To Manage Damage Caused by Invasive Species: A range of
policies can be designed to exclude, monitor, and control invasive
pests. Imports from specific countries can be banned or restricted;
pests can be treated during production, or in shipments after production;
voluntary or mandatory area-wide spraying campaigns can be mounted;
and private pest control actions can be encouraged. International
agreements can foster global cooperation on controls, information
exchange, research, or foreign aid to source countries. Grades,
standards, labels, and certification can promote trade by ensuring
that phytosanitary requirements have been met. The need to assess
the economic efficiency of different prevention and control strategies
for invasive species management is real and complex.
To kick off the research program, ERS will host a 2-day
workshop on the economics of invasive plant pests and animal
diseases on May 12-13, 2003. The workshop will engage those who
would perform, and those who have a stake in the results of, the
economic research, to review and discuss research priorities for
the extramural competitive grants program. USDA agencies, including
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, are collaborators
on the workshop agenda. Representatives from higher education institutions,
USDA, other Federal and State agencies, industry, and nongovernmental
organizations will provide perspectives on bioeconomic risk assessment,
links between trade expansion and invasive introductions, and the
economics of policies to exclude, monitor, and control plant pests
and animal diseases.