Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
climate and host life stages; niches availability and disturbance levels (e.g. change
of landscape by humans).
When considering the establishment of quarantine systems/measures there are
many issues to be taken into account. At the broadest level there are obligations to
international conventions and intergovernmental organizations to which govern-
ments are members or contracting parties. The principle conventions and inter-
governmental organizations that deal with invasive species are the International
Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), World Organisation for Animal Health
(OIE), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Codex Alimentarius, Ballast
Water (International Maritime Organisation, IMO), and the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).
These international agreements provide a framework of principles to guide a coun-
try in developing mechanisms/measures to reduce the threats from invasive species
(see Chapter 8).
h e agriculture sector has been developing procedures, methodologies, and
tools to lower the likelihood of entry of organisms of concern for many years.
h e fi rst international plant health agreement was signed in Bern, Switzerland in
1881, as a response to spread of a plant pest,
Phylloxera
, on grape vine planting
material. It was called the Convention on measures to be taken against
Phylloxera
vastatrix
(now renamed
Daktulosphaira vitifoliae
). h is agreement was the forerun-
ner of the current IPPC. Over the past 12 years international phytosanitary stand-
ards (ISPMs) have been developed within the framework of the IPPC, to provide
guidance on a range of plant quarantine issues covering plant pests—under IPPC
defi nitions the term plant pest includes plant pathogens, insect pests, and weeds
(FAO 1997, 2004a-c, 2005a, 2007a,b; IPPC 1997) h ese standards are generally
adaptable across all sectors. h e risk assessment standards have been uno
cially
adapted for use by some scientists for invasive species in areas other than agricul-
ture, e.g. aquatic species.
These agreements, international standards, and frameworks are often adminis-
tered through different national mechanisms, usually implemented by different
sectors of government, and hence not necessarily applied in a unifi ed or coordi-
nated manner.
National issues that can impact on a country's capacity to implement quarantine
systems/measures include the national economic status, eff ectiveness of govern-
ance, social and political stability, and the well-being of a populace. If major social
problems prevail—such as poverty, famine, civil unrest, or war—then the preven-
tion of entry or deliberate introduction of potential invasive species is likely to have
