Management and Law of Invasive Species

Management of invasive species is a vital part of ecosystem control within our world; we have talked a bit about various species of invasive animals within Newfoundland and what an invasive animal is. What we now are going to look at is really how well is Newfoundland doing in managing these species. To understand Newfoundland’s role we are going to explain Canada’s regulations, strategies and plans for management invasive animals.  Currently in Canada the number of animals that are considered invasive are: “181 insects, 24 birds, 26 mammals, 2 reptiles, 4 amphibians, some molluscs, and 55 freshwater fish” as quoted from Environment Canada’s invasive species webpage (http://www.ec.gc.ca/eee-ias/default.asp?lang=En&n=1A81B051-1) and these numbers are only one that have been discovered.

The management of invasive species is a complicated task to control. From some of the previous blogs there have been somewhat success stories of management (Newfoundland marten) and some failures in the management of controlling invasive animals (Blue-star tunicate). There was the Invasive Alien Species Strategy for Canada thought up in 2004 where the federal government works incorporation with each province and territory. There is also a national strategy set in place to control the entrance of new invasive species in to the country.

Canada’s management:

Goal: to conserve biodiversity and use sustainable amounts of biological recourses. This included prevention of spreading of invasive species. This has to be done by creating incentives and legislation of management.

In 2004 there was a strategy released called the National Invasive Alien Species Strategy that had: The goal for the invasive alien species strategy for Canada (Environment Canada, 2004) is to set a framework (Figure 1 below) of strategic challenges to control these invasive animals. Some challenges that were added to the framework were, including economic and social factors with environmental considerations, respond rapidly to invasive species, strengthen programs that protect our natural resources (limit global trade), and limit resource by collaboration between adhoc and regional/issue specific efforts.

 Figure 1: The finalize framework for the management of invasive species within Canada.

In 2005 this strategy started to examine the policies and regulations for invasive species in this Provence.

Legislation involved in Canada’s management of invasive species is the review of over 40 acts. There are also several departments that are listed in figure 2 that display their roles in legislation of the invasive species act. Canada’s priorities include, prevent introductions on new species, detect new invaders, respond to new invaders and manage the spreading through control.

Figure 2: the departments involved in the management of invasive species and their acts presented (Legislation Review: Invasive Species, 2006-2008).

 Newfoundland’s management:

               

               Figure 3: The departments used in making Newfoundland’s legislation on the invasive species act for the province and their acts which got reviewed (Legislation Review: Invasive Species, 2006-2008).

In Newfoundland, the strategies are slightly modified from the overall Canadian strategy because it is an island; therefore the only mode of transportation to the island is by ice, water (including boats) or air. There have been 4 zones set up which indication high entrance points for invasive species which is For example negative zones are very low risk entry points and the positive zones (within the supplying zone) are very high risk and need to be monitored.

Some other strategies that Newfoundland has implemented are, Livestock Health Regulations.

There are rules which prohibit the import of honeybees, honeybee hives, mink or swine into the province. If a person wants to obtain these animals then they must receive a permit from the Director of Animal Health.

Comparison:

The legislation within Canada is an effective act when regarding import of exotic species into the country however this doesn’t concern the entrance between provinces.

Provincial legislation seems to cover off the animals through the Wildlife Act however there is little protection from exotic plant invasions which bring various invasive animals such as insects (long-horn beetle) on to the island of Newfoundland.

Currently there are no rules of cleaning hulls of boats or other transportation sources. Therefore little to no enforcement is done and need to be implemented.

Enviroment Canada. 2004. An Invasive Alien Species Strategy for Canada. Retrieved from: (http://www.ec.gc.ca/eee-ias/98DB3ACF-94FE-4573- AE0F95133A03C5E9/Final_IAS_Strategic_Plan smaller_e.pdf)

Legislation Review: Invasive Species, 2006-2008. Exotic Species Education Coordination and Policy Development project. Retrieved from: http://www.env.gov.nl.ca/env/wildlife/biodiversity/invasive_alien_species/legislationreview.pdf