Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Political impact
Many countries have instituted their national programs for invasive species for
awareness regarding invasion. At the International level, The Rio Convention
of Biological Diversity in 1992 may have been the first to recognize the impor-
tance of invasive species. In March 1999, an International Workshop on
Invasive Alien Species was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in conjunction
with the Global Invasive Species Program (GISP). This was coordinated by the
Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) in collabora-
tion with the world Conservation Union (IUCN) and CAB International. The
overall aim of GISP was to assemble the best available data on various issues
encompassing invasive alien species problems.
In 1997, 500 scientists and resource managers wrote to the United States
Vice President and requested action on invasive species. Their letter stated:
“We are losing the war against invasive exotic species, and their economic
impacts are soaring. We simply can not allow this unacceptable degradation of
our Nation's public and agricultural lands to continue”. An interagency team
was launched in response to develop a comprehensive and coordinated strate-
gy for the problem. They prepared a review of the issue with recommendations
foremost among them was that an executive order be issued providing stan-
dards and a framework for ongoing action.
In response to the threats posed by invasive species and the challenges to
minimizing their spread, the President of the United States of America issued
Executive Order 13112 (Order) on Invasive Species, February 3, 1999 [17].
The Order applies to all Federal agencies whose actions may affect the status
of invasive species. It requires agencies to identify such actions and to the
extent practicable and permitted by law 1) take actions specified in the Order
to address the problem consistent with their authorities and budgetary
resources; 2) not authorize, fund, or carry out actions that it believes are like-
ly to cause or promote the introduction or spread of invasive species in the
United States or elsewhere unless, “pursuant to guidelines that it has pre-
scribed, the agency has determined and make public its determinations that the
benefits of such actions clearly outweigh the potential harm caused by inva-
sive species; and that all feasible and prudent measures to minimize risk of
harm will be taken in conjunction with the actions” (Executive Order 13112).
Although the Order applies to all Federal agencies, most of the duties required
by the Executive Order are the responsibility of the eight Council members.
Given the scope and complexity of the invasive species problem, it is neces-
sary to prioritize actions to deal with the most pressing invasive species prob-
lem first.
The Order established a National Invasive Species Council (NISC). The
council is made up of the President's Cabinet from the Department of State,
Treasury, Defense, Interior, Agriculture, Transportation, Commerce, Health
and Human Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency, and the US
Agency for International Development. The Order also called for an Invasive
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