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"The spread of non-native species is fast becoming one of our most costly ecological problems." -- Business Week, May 24, 1999. Rampant growth of global trade has increased the numbers of exotic insects, plants, and animals that hitchhike into America on imported goods, in ship ballast water, and in cargo holds. Exotic species that out-compete native species exact a growing cost on our health, our natural heritage, and even our homes. But new trade agreements prevent regulators from stopping these pests at our borders. A Natural Disaster in the Making Free trade eliminates more than national and economic boundaries. It also breaks down physical barriers necessary to the diversity of life. For millions of years after life first appeared, mountains, oceans, and deserts served as natural barriers that prevented the rapid movement of species between habitats. When introductions of non-native species did occur, the pace of new introductions was slow enough to allow adaptation with minimal disruptions. Now, however, the rampant growth of international trade - up 50% since 1990 - helps species spread rapidly around the world unchecked. Growing international trade is working a vast experiment on life itself, merging the world's many ecosystems into a handful of biologically impoverished mono-systems. Already, the costs are staggering. After habitat loss, the spread of non-native species has emerged as the second greatest threat to native plants and animals in America. Nearly half of the species listed as threatened or endangered in the United States are at risk from exotic species. Altogether exotic pests cost the U.S. economy more than $122 billion annually in lost crops, denuded forests, and termite-infested homes according to a study conducted by Cornell University ecologist David Pimentel. An Ounce of Prevention Once it begins, a "bio-invasion" cannot easily be stopped. While even a major oil spill may dissipate over time, "biological pollution" will continue to grow and spread. Prevention must, therefore, be the priority. First, U.S. regulations must change. Under present rules, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) adopts an "innocent until proven guilty" approach to invasive species. So we often don't learn that particular pests are dangerous until they're running wild and it is too late to prevent serious damage. Instead, we should prevent exotic critters from being introduced until we know for certain that they are safe. Second, international trade rules must be "fixed." Under current rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), countries cannot take strong, science-based precautionary steps to stop invasives at their borders. For example, when the USDA adopted emergency rules to stop the Asian long-horned beetle in 1998, Hong Kong immediately threatened to file a complaint with the WTO that could override the new safeguards. WTO rules could be "fixed" with an executive trade agreement that allows countries to impose regulations on suspicion that an import could be dangerous. That way, we can prevent small problems before they become big ones. Responsible Trade, Not Free Trade In November 1999, the United States will host a Summit of the WTO in Seattle. Rather than sign new trade agreements, the Clinton Administration should review and repair the WTO so that it no longer undermines our environmental, health, and safety laws. The WTO must be fixed to allow the prevention of emerging environmental risks, not just clean-up after problems become too big to solve. Pest Invaders: A Costly LegacyRemember when our neighborhoods were shaded by giant, graceful elm trees? America's landscape has been permanently impoverished by successive waves of pest invaders such as Dutch elm disease. Remember, for a moment, how much we have lost. Then think how much more more of America's natural heritage we still have to lose.
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