1 research outputs found
Lists of harmful alien organisms: Are the national regulations adapted to the global world?
Legislation on biological invasions has
been evolving in recent decades. The use of lists of
harmful alien organisms (LHAO) is becoming a
widespread policy practice in many countries. LHAO
aims to prevent the introduction of undesirable
organisms at the pre-border level, regulate their use
within the country and deter their spread. However, a
systematic review and comparison of the current
legislations is lacking. It remains unknown whether
there are gaps or weaknesses that may compromise
and effective strategy against biological invasions. In
this study, a total of 77 LHAO from Australia, Japan,
New Zealand, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, the
United Kingdom and the United States of America
were evaluated and compared in terms of the taxonomic
criteria of inclusion, the impacts of concern and
the activities regulated. The number of LHAO has
increased exponentially since 1924. Countries widely varied in the number of lists. Within a country, LHAO
are scattered across different regulations that consider
different impacts and regulate activities from introduction
to management. The number of taxa ranged
between 0.15 and 55.4 taxa km-2 in the USA and
New Zealand, respectively. These lists totaled 21,029
records of 18,149 different taxa, showing a prevalence
of taxa listed as species (rather than genera of higher
ranks). Primary attention is paid to the kingdoms
Animalia and Plantae. Taxa affecting livelihood/uses
were more prevalent than those related to biodiversity
and human health impacts. The most common regulations
concern trade and tenure followed by use. This
study reveals the need for more comprehensive
(intersectoral) regulations on invasive alien species
within countries as well as the development of
homogeneous regulations adapted to the globalized
world.Peer reviewe