The introduction of alien species is a significant component of human-induced global change, and one of the most serious threats to biodiversity. It should therefore be considered as one of the important side effects of economic activities. Economic variables, such as the degree of openness of a country's economy, the composition of its trade flows, its regulatory regimes, the importance of agriculture, livestock, and tourism sectors, and so on, may play a role as determinants of a country's vulnerability to invasions by alien species. I am investigating the nature of these externalities: do available data support the hypothesis of economic activities as determinants in the recent changes in the rate of alien species introductions, and if so, what economic activities are likely to play a role, and what is their relative importance in explaining a country's susceptibility to biological invasions. The data being used refer to established alien plant species in 29 different countries in different continents, and to a large number of economic variables --- Gross Domestic Product, trade flows and their composition, tourism, rates of economic growth, land devoted to agriculture and to livestock production, land still forested and with wood cover, as well as institutional variables such as import duties, demographic variables such as population density, and geographical ones such as island status. The analysis also aims at investigating the relative importance of disturbance (which may undermine the ability of ecosystems to resist to invasions) versus introductions of alien species as determinants of biological invasions.
Economic Factors Affecting Vulnerability to Biological Invasions
DALMAZZONE, Silvana
2000-01-01
Abstract
The introduction of alien species is a significant component of human-induced global change, and one of the most serious threats to biodiversity. It should therefore be considered as one of the important side effects of economic activities. Economic variables, such as the degree of openness of a country's economy, the composition of its trade flows, its regulatory regimes, the importance of agriculture, livestock, and tourism sectors, and so on, may play a role as determinants of a country's vulnerability to invasions by alien species. I am investigating the nature of these externalities: do available data support the hypothesis of economic activities as determinants in the recent changes in the rate of alien species introductions, and if so, what economic activities are likely to play a role, and what is their relative importance in explaining a country's susceptibility to biological invasions. The data being used refer to established alien plant species in 29 different countries in different continents, and to a large number of economic variables --- Gross Domestic Product, trade flows and their composition, tourism, rates of economic growth, land devoted to agriculture and to livestock production, land still forested and with wood cover, as well as institutional variables such as import duties, demographic variables such as population density, and geographical ones such as island status. The analysis also aims at investigating the relative importance of disturbance (which may undermine the ability of ecosystems to resist to invasions) versus introductions of alien species as determinants of biological invasions.
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