So after 4 days of suspense for you, and 4 days of
reading for me, I can finally put my fingers to the keyboard and pass on the 2
most common ways to combat the ballooning problem that is invasive species and
its exacerbation through increasing global trade and travel.
1.) Education and information sharing
As Simpson (2004) suggested, if the world is linked
for trade why can’t it be linked for information? In 2004 the Global Invasive Species
Information Network (GISIN) was established and has since provided the organisational backbone for “sharing invasive species information at a global level, via the Internet and other digital means.” Through the dissemination of invasive species data in a
standardised way, the GISIN hopes to educate and inform not just local, but
global systems in order to reduce problems associated with the introduction of
foreign species.
While
this might be the case, however, there are only 21 data providers to the
network and just because the data is available to view it does not mean that the
targets will take any notice of it.
At the
same time, the task of educating the public on invasive species does not lie solely
at the feet of the GISIN. Smaller more focussed groups such as the Aquatic
Invaders Project (AIP) are more abundant, and while they may not have the
global reach, many regions are well covered by the experts they employ
(Patterson et. al, 2010). With their “free learning courses” where experts not
only educate the public, but also learn about new problems and issues from
them, the AIP can be seen to be considerably more grounded, and with their
bottom-up approach, it is perhaps possible to suggest they are more likely to
get to the root of the problems.
2.) Taxes and charges
If the
companies and governments aren’t learning, why not just hike up tax in a bid to
encourage socially respectable behaviour eh? To reduce the cost and number of
accidental introductions, Costello and McAusland (2003) have argued an invasion
risk-related tariff should be employed: the greater the risk the cargo or the
travel path has of bringing in invasive species to the import nation, the
higher the tariff. The same researchers have also suggested that companies pay
for regular port inspections and take insurance out against the risk of
bringing invasive species into a country. The need for clear regulation and
standards has also been championed in many studies, with Knowler and Barbier (2005)
going on to introduce the idea of administrative changes and invasive species
related subsidies.
Despite the ambitions of these projects, schemes and
strategies there are still barriers in place preventing them from achieving
their aims, such as limited funding or a lack of public motivation to evoke
change for. Until these barriers are broken down it seems to me that all that
is achieved will be practically superficial, as if you don’t have active public
support it is going to be difficult to maintain any alterations, and ultimatly meet their lofty goals.
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