Exotic Pests and Diseases: Biology and Economics for Biosecurity

Exotic Pests and Diseases: Biology and Economics for Biosecurity

 
Exotic pests and diseases have long been an important concern in agriculture. The problem is becoming increasingly urgent and complex because agricultural trade has been liberalized worldwide, and as a consequence, the probability of spreading a disease or a pest through national borders has become a real threat, not only for the agricultural industry but also for human health and the natural environment.

This edited volume’s list of international contributors reads like a Who’s Who of international agricultural research! This book includes ten interdisciplinary case studies that focus on specific pests or diseases that represent a range of threats to U.S. agriculture, wild lands and the urban landscape, and possible government responses to these threats. Each chapter combines, in an original fashion, biological foundations and implications for the public, giving powerful insights to a series of public policy issues of national and international relevance. In many instances, economic analysis of alternative policies is included.
Exotic pest control is discussed in a public good general framework, and under the international regulatory laws comprised by the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Protocol of the WTO.

Table of Contents

Preface.

Contributors.

Chapter 1 Introduction and Overview.

Chapter 2 Economics of Exotic Pests Policy.

Chapter 3 An Overview of Regulatory and Institutional Aspect of Exotic Pests and Disease Control.

Chapter 4 International Trade Law and the Control of Exotic Pests.

Chapter 5 Historical Perspectives on Exotic Pests and Diseases in California Agriculture.

Case Studies.

Chapter 6 Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy: Lessons from the United Kingdom.

Chapter 7 Potential Impact of a Foot and Mouth Disease Outbreak.

Chapter 8 Risk Assessment of Plant Parasitic Nematodes.

Chapter 9 Ex-Ante Economics of Exotic Disease Policy: Citrus Canker in California.

Chapter 10 An Insect Pest for Agricultural, Urban, and Wildlife Areas: The Red Imported Fire Ant.

Chapter 11 A Rational Risk Policy for Regulating Plant Diseases and Pests: The Case of Karnal Bunt.

Chapter 12 Introduction and Establishment of Exotic Insect and Mite Pests of Avocados: Evaluating Changes in Policy.

Chapter 13 Ash Whitefly and Biological Control in the Urban Environment.

Chapter 14 Economic Consequences of a New Exotic Pest: The Introduction of Rice Blast Disease.

Chapter 15 Biological Control of Yellow Starthistle: A Cost Benefit Analysis.

Glossary of Terms and Acronyms.

Index