11
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
For decades development projects have worked to improve the social,
economic, and political reality of those in the developing world through
agriculture, fisheries, and water security projects. Until recently, these projects
have typically been conducted without much consideration for their impacts on
the surrounding ecosystems that ultimately sustain local communities. At times,
project managers and donor agencies have failed to recognize or acknowledge
that cultured organisms can have significant impacts on ecosystems and human
health when they are released or escape into natural systems (Msiska et al. 1991,
Welcomme 1988). As a result, species originating in one part of world have
been intentionally or unintentionally introduced into other regions of the world.
In some cases, these alien species have proven invasive, causing harm to
ecosystems, economies, or human health, and thus threatening the very
development activities they were introduced to support. Collectively, these
introductions have contributed to a long-term problem of global scale; invasive
alien species (IAS) are now among the top drivers of biodiversity loss and
environmental change globally (Sala et al. 2000).
As awareness of IAS has grown, efforts to safeguard against their spread
have begun to emerge. Forward-looking development agencies, which may have
in the past been responsible for IAS introductions, are now educating their officers
and partners about the risks posed by IAS. Recognizing the significant impacts
that IAS have on the environment, economy, and human health, the U.S. Agency
for International Development (USAID), in cooperation with the Global Invasive
Species Programme (GISP), sponsored a preliminary assessment to investigate
the linkages between IAS and development assistance in the freshwater systems
of Southeast Asia. This report details the findings of the assessment, which
focused on three areas (1) development assistance as pathway of introduction,
(2) development assistance projects adversely impacted by IAS, and (3)
development assistance projects working to address IAS.
The assessment findings indicate that some development agencies are
engaged in aquaculture projects that use alien species in Southeast Asia's
freshwater systems in order to further food security and economic development
(WorldFish 2003c). On occasion, the cultivation of local species has been
Summary :
11 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY For decades development projects have worked to improve the social, economic, and political reality of those in the developing world through agriculture, fisheries, and water security projects. This report details the findings of the assessment, which focused on three areas (1) development assistance as pathway of introduction, (2) development assistance projects adversely impacted by IAS, and (3) development assistance projects working to address IAS.
Tags :
ias,species,projects,assistance,been,health,inasie,alien,agencies,human,ecosystems,impacts,systems