Economic aspects of invasive forest pest management
Abstract
The past decade has evidenced growing concern with the causes and consequences of biological invasions, many of which are economic in nature(Perrings et al. 2002). The risk of a new pest introduction is positively correlated with world trade flows (Costello and McAusland 2003, Margolis et al. 2005) and new invasions threaten the productivity and biological diversity of native ecosystems (Mack et al. 2000). A recent study reports that roughly 50,000 exotic species are established in the United States and annual domestic costs and annual losses from invasive species (forest and non-forest) may exceed $120 billion (Pimentel et al. 2005). The passage of Executive Order 13112 (Clinton 1999), which enhances federal coordination and response to invasive species, and the creation of the National Invasive Species Council (NISC 2001, NISC 2005), are evidence of the federal government's substantial concerns with these emerging threats to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.