Alien Species in British Columbia

What are the Economic Costs?

Alien species can have significant economic impacts because many aspects of our human economy rely on services and functions provided by nature. Natural resource-based sectors most affected by alien species include:

• forestry;
• agriculture;
• fisheries and aquaculture; and
• tourism and outdoor recreation.

There are also financial costs incurred when alien species damage infrastructure.

Most intentional introductions of aliens are based on economic motivations, yet they are seldom preceded by a careful cost-benefit analysis that includes societal and ecological consequences. It is rarely those responsible for introducing an alien species, either intentionally or accidentally, who pay for resulting damages. Instead, consumers, other resource users and tax-payers bear most of the burden.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency classifies 94 alien species as agricultural or forest pests and estimates that these regulated species cost the Canadian economy $7.5 billion annually. That figure does not include costs that arise from regulated pests on natural ecosystems or the impacts of unregulated alien species. In the United States, the total cost of preventative measures, control programs and lost production due to alien species is estimated to exceed $137 billion a year.

What are the Human Health Risks?

Public health issues are rarely discussed from the perspective of alien species, even though the spread of pathogens has had a profound effect on human health, both historically and in modern times. When European explorers set off for the "New World" they carried invisible but lethal baggage with them. Following the arrival of Columbus, 95% of the indigenous population died from smallpox, measles, whooping cough, influenza and other imported diseases, which were completely new to them.

West Nile virus is one of the most recent alien diseases to reach North America. After first appearing in New York City in 1999, it quickly spread across North America, reaching Ontario by 2001. Statistics on the effects of this virus on humans and animals are dramatically changing on a seasonal and annual basis.

Bacteria, viruses, protozoans and other microbes can travel with us in and on our own bodies, or via transported food, livestock, wildlife, or goods, and are also amongst the many aliens carried in ballast water. Another entry point for alien pathogens is the exotic pet trade - a growing concern as both the number of people purchasing these animals and the number of different species being imported is increasing. These organisms may have minor to severe effects on humans, domestic and wild animals.

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