2454 final report.pdf - Agra CEAS Consulting

Evaluation of the Community Plant Health Regime: Final Report
DG SANCO Evaluation Framework Contract Lot 3 (Food Chain)
5.1.2 Options and analysis: Invasive Alien Species
5.1.2.1 Background
As discussed in section 3.1.2, there is currently lack of common understanding, leading to
considerable confusion, on both the definition of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) and the extent
to which IAS are covered by the scope of the Directive. Furthermore, there have been
international developments in the consideration of IAS at the level of IPPC and EPPO, and a
more general EU strategy on Invasive Species (IS), on the basis of the CBD, has been
developed. Looking forward, the potential effects of climate change on altering patterns of
alien species invasion in the EU need also to be taken into account. The evaluation has
therefore concluded that there is need for clarification of the CPHR on the issue of IAS.
In terms of the EU context, clearly the definitions need clarification, i.e.:
Invasive = what is meant by the term ‗invasive‘: must be established; may mean
spread and may mean impact?
Alien = definition and degree of ‗alienness‘ (i.e. how far back, establishment in new
environment (e.g. American Beaver (Castor Canadensis))
Species = subspecies strain or biotype (e.g. bumble bee)
Although many alien species offer benefits to a country (e.g. in agriculture, forestry,
aquaculture), those species which become invasive can have devastating impacts 268 . The
negative impacts may be: environmental through loss of biodiversity (plant communities and
wider ecosystems); economic through loss of production by affected species or the cost of
control measures; health-related (e.g. when the invasive organism is a host or vector for
animal/human disease); or, political through effects on international trade, food security,
water supply, regional stability, poverty, migration etc. Effects on plants include both
cultivated plants (field crops, horticulture, forest plantations) and non cultivated plants
(natural forests, plants in the landscape e.g. along rivers); many regulated pests have wider
environmental effects and are regulated mainly for that reason, while many pests (directly or
indirectly injurious to plants) have effects on both cultivated and uncultivated plants 269 .
In terms of the international context, as explained in section 3.1.2, the IPPC also contains
provisions applicable to IAS when the species concerned are pests of plants or plant products,
including those found in natural and semi-natural habitats (the IPPC definition of a quarantine
pest covers a significant part but not all of what is considered as an invasive alien species
under the CBD 270 ). In following the IPPC approach, since 2002, the EPPO has put in place a
268 IPPC Secretariat. 2005. Identification of risks and management of invasive alien species using the IPPC
framework. Proceedings of the workshop on IAS and the International Plant Protection Convention,
Braunschweig, Germany, 22–26 September 2003. Rome, Italy, FAO.
269 Conclusion of NPPO workshop on IAS, Budapest Oct 2009.
270 The implementation of the IPPC is directly relevant to implementation of Article 8(h) of the CBD. ISPM 11
rev. 1: Pest risk analysis for quarantine pests including analysis of environmental risks, was adopted in 2003 and
further revised and supplemented in 2004 to address in detail the environmental risks of plant pests. ISPM 5:
Glossary of phytosanitary terms, was supplemented with Guidelines on the understanding of potential economic
importance and related terms including reference to environmental considerations. This clarifies that the IPPC
Food Chain Evaluation Consortium 309