Socio-Economic Impact and Assessment of Biological Invasions

Abstract

Biological invasions have been object of ecological research for years. As one objective, natural scientists investigate the effects of invasive species on ecosystems and their functioning (Levine et al. 2003). However, impacts on ecosystems are also of relevance for society. Changes in ecosystems affect humans insofar as ecosystems provide goods and services, such as fresh water, food and fibres or recreation, which might be altered due to invasive species. Therefore, impacts of biological invasions should be an object of socio-economic interest, which is also demanded by the Convention on Biological Diversity (2002).This chapter aims at providing elements for the analysis of impacts of invasive species from the socio-economic point of view. Such an analysis is politically relevant, since impacts are the focal point of every decision to establish an appropriate management regime. For an all-encompassing analysis, an integrative framework is needed to structure the information on impacts. For that purpose, the concept of ecosystem services (Chap. 13) is introduced (Sect. 19.2). Alternative decisions on the appropriate management of invasive species face trade-offs between outcomes and impacts. For handling such trade-offs, evaluation is needed.As discussed in Sect. 19.3, perception presents the prerequisite of an explicit evaluation. Finally, different evaluation methods are introduced so as to value the information about impacts during the decision-making process (Sect. 19.4).

How to Achieve Effectiveness in Problem-Oriented Landscape Research: The Example of Research on Biotic Invasions

“…treatment of allergic reactions to pollen of an invasive plant, are also included (Born et al, 2005;Pimentel et al, 2005). The monetary value of the ecological damages caused by alien species are usually calculated based on the concept of ecosystem services (Binimelis et al, 2007;Born et al, 2005;Charles and Dukes, 2007), i.e., the loss of ecosystem services through biotic invasions is derived from biological impact research (see above) (Charles and Dukes, 2007). Estimates of total costs stemming from biotic invasions for countries such as the U.S.A., Canada, Australia or Germany are typically of the order of more than US$ 1 billion per year (Olson, 2007;Pimentel et al, 2005).…”

“…Because many valuable things do not have a market price, or things are valuable for more than only economic reasons (Brun and Hirsch Hadorn, 2008), broader socioeconomic approaches to assess damages by biotic invasions are being developed (Binimelis et al, 2007). For instance, the damages to landscape aesthetics or the recreation value of nature have been estimated (Binimelis et al, 2007;Charles and Dukes, 2007), or the role of invasive species for poor people and developing countries is considered (Drake and Keller, 2004;Perrings, 2005).…”

“…For instance, the damages to landscape aesthetics or the recreation value of nature have been estimated (Binimelis et al, 2007;Charles and Dukes, 2007), or the role of invasive species for poor people and developing countries is considered (Drake and Keller, 2004;Perrings, 2005). In socioeconomic valuation it is particularly important to recognise that alien species can have both positive and negative roles for people, and that the valuation of an alien species is dynamic and may change with time and context (Binimelis et al, 2007). Social sciences, ethics and historical research have provided a deeper understanding of socioeconomic valuation of invasive species issues in different contexts and in a historical time frame (e.g.…”

“…Often a detailed consideration of the stakeholders' valuation of a management attempt is necessary. The socioeconomic valuation of management measures, including prevention (Finnoff et al, 2007), may compare the costs and benefits of different management scenarios (cost-benefit analysis), or the costs and effectiveness to achieve a certain goal through different strategies (cost-effectiveness analysis) (Binimelis et al, 2007;Born et al, 2005). Thereby the valuation of the positive and negative aspects of a management strategy may vary considerably between stakeholder groups (Bremner and Park, 2007;Veitch and Clout, 2001).…”

“…In transdisciplinary research the framing of adequate research questions is itself a topic of the research project (Pohl and Hirsch Hadorn, 2007). Participatory methodologies that guide deliberations among stakeholders have also rarely been employed in invasion research, with the notable exceptions of a few examples, such as the use of scenario planning (Binimelis et al, 2007;Chapman et al, 2001;Higgins et al, 1997), multicriteria assessment (Binimelis et al, 2007;Cook and Proctor, 2007), or agent based modelling of conflicts of interests (Macpherson et al, 2006). …”