Invasive Species Management: Programs, Policies, and Institutions for Preventing and Managing Invasive Agricultural Pests: Supporting Tables

Pest Management Options for Public Programs

Surveillance - Activities, such as inspections or surveys, to identify the presence, extent, and severity of pest infestations.

Detection - Discovery and identification of a pest or disease-causing organism. Early detection can identify a threat and initiate a response program.

Delimitation - Defined extent of an infestation.

Monitoring - Tracking of the extent and severity of pest infestations in various locations over time.

Management - Activities to reduce pest infestations or damage. These activities could be implemented under a regulatory and/or a public/private cooperative program and can include surveillance activities as well as activities to eradicate or control the pest.

Eradication - Elimination of a pest or disease-causing organism from a specific area.

Control - Prevention or reduction of the spread of or damage from an organism, without eradication.

Containment - Prevention of the spread of an infestation outside a specific area.

Quarantine - Legally defined area to isolate a pest or disease or to prevent entry into or spread from an area. Observation or specific control measures may be required.

Rapid Response - Rapid public response after detection of a damaging pest or disease threat to identify the extent and severity of the infestation and to eradicate or control it before it becomes widespread.

Restoration - Activities after control or eradication of an organism to restore or rehabilitate a disturbed system to prevent or slow the reinfestation or spread of the pest. For example, planting native or other desirable plants that can compete with an exotic weed species after activities to eradicate or control the weed.

Prevention - Exclusion of a pest from a specific area, such as the United States, a State, or a region. Such programs can require permits, inspections, treatments, destruction, certifications of treatment or pest-free status, or restrictions on commodity movements in and around quarantine areas.

Major International Agreements and Institutions

• International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC): This Treaty, which became effective in 1952, defines nations' rights and responsibilities and facilitates international cooperation in controlling plant pests and preventing their spread across international boundaries. The IPPC is governed and administered by the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (ICPM), established in 1997. The ICPM sets the work program for standards development and approves adopts final draft standards as global standards. Each United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) signatory country is represented on the ICPM by one delegate. FAO provides a secretariat to support the work and direction set by the ICPM.
  
  Each IPPC member has a national plant protection organization to administer plant protection responsibilities in international trade and communicate with international organizations and other countries. For the United States, this organization is the Plant Protection and Quarantine unit of USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS/PPQ). Regional plant protection organizations provide multicountry coordination for activities and objectives of the Convention. The United States, Canada, and Mexico are members of the North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO), created in 1976.
  


• Office International Des Epizooties (OIE): Created by the "International Agreement for the Creation of an Office International Des Epizooties in Paris," the OIE (also known as the World Organization for Animal Health) harmonizes trade regulations in animals and animal products for member nations, as well as providing information about the occurrence and control of animal diseases and international coordination of studies concerning surveillance and control of such diseases. Originally signed by 28 countries in 1924, the Agreement and Office now include more than 160 member countries. USDA's APHIS-Veterinary Services (APHIS/VS) is the primary U.S. contact with the OIE. Under the agreement, countries are obliged to report animal diseases detected in their territory. The OIE disseminates this information to other countries, which can take preventive actions. The organization also collects, analyzes, and disseminates scientific information on animal disease control measures to help member countries improve the methods used to control and eradicate diseases, without setting unjustified sanitary barriers. Finally, the OIE develops technical standards, recognized by the WTO as international benchmark standards for animal health measures, to guide safe trade in animals and animal products.
  

  OIE maintains two lists of transmissible diseases. List A diseases have the potential for very serious and rapid spread, irrespective of national borders, are of serious socio-economic or public health consequence, and are of major importance in the international trade of animals and animal products. List B diseases are considered to be of socio-economic and/or public health importance within countries and are significant in the international trade of animals and animal products. Member countries agree to report information about the occurrence of List A diseases as often as necessary and List B diseases at least once per year.

• Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures: The SPS Agreement, under the World Trade Organization (WTO), came into force in 1995. It addresses how countries apply food safety, animal health, and plant health regulations (sanitary and phytosanitary or SPS measures), with respect to international trade. While a primary purpose of the WTO is to reduce international trade barriers, the SPS Agreement recognizes countries' rights to take protective measures, some of which may restrict trade, to exclude or control foreign pest and disease threats to human health, agricultural production, and the environment. The Agreement gives responsibility to establish international standards for phytosanitary measures to the IPPC and for animal health and zoonoses to the OIE. It also has a dispute resolution process for disagreements over protective measures.

  The SPS Agreement established a core set of rules to govern countries' use of SPS measures in trade. The WTO rules allow members to institute SPS measures to protect consumer, animal, and plant health, provided such measures are based on scientific evidence, are no more trade restrictive than necessary to achieve the importing countries' appropriate level of protection and do not discriminate between members where similar or identical pest or disease risks exist. The adoption of temporary, including emergency, SPS measures is allowed in the event of a new pest or disease risk that may require urgent, temporary action. The SPS Agreement requires countries to revise such temporary measures when sufficient scientific information becomes available to do so.

  Under the Agreement, each country can define an allowable level of protection (ALOP). ALOPs are usually defined qualitatively rather than quantitatively, but countries must apply them consistently for comparable, similar, or identical risks. Different levels of protection for similar or comparable risks must be justified by a science-based rationale. Countries must not "arbitrarily or unjustifiably" discriminate between member countries with similar conditions. Member countries must recognize regional differences in pest infestations in other countries and restrict imports only from regions where risk exceeds the ALOP, not from regions where risk meets the standard. If more than one protective measure meets the ALOP, the importing member country must choose one that minimizes negative impacts on trade. For example, a pesticide treatment might meet the standard with less impact than an import ban.

• North American Free Trade Agreement: Using language similar to the SPS Agreement, this treaty between the United States, Canada, and Mexico states that each country may adopt, maintain, or apply any sanitary or phytosanitary measure necessary for the protection of human, animal, or plant life or health in its territory (in Chapter 7, Section B). These measures may be more stringent than an international standard, guideline, or recommendation, provided such measures are based on a risk assessment. Article 715 requires parties to consider relevant pests and diseases and specific economic factors in risk assessments. Under the dispute resolution process, a member would first take a dispute to NAFTA, but could proceed to the WTO.
  


• Convention on Biological Diversity: This Treaty, negotiated under the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), came into force in December 1993. Its goals are to promote the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from using genetic resources. Article 8 says that "Each Contracting Party shall, as far as possible and appropriate: … (h) Prevent the introduction of, control, or eradicate those alien species which threaten ecosystems, habitats, or species." The first of 15 guiding principles adopted at the sixth meeting of the Convention (April 2002) was to apply the precautionary principle to decisions concerning the intentional introduction of alien species and the mitigation of impacts of established alien species. This decision was controversial because it might allow broader use of the precautionary principle than the SPS Agreement does. The U.S. signed the Convention in 1993 but has not yet ratified it.

Summary of Key Provisions of the Plant Protection Act of 2000

Authorities and Restrictions

Risk Assessment and Science-based Decision Making

Note: The Plant Protection Act was amended through P.L. 106-580, December 31, 2000.

Summary of Key Provisions of the Animal Health Protection Act

Note:  The Animal Health Protection Act is contained in Title X, Subtitle E, Sections 10401-18 of P.L. 107-171, May 13, 2002,  the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002.

Federal Pest Prevention and Exclusion Programs

Import Standards (APHIS)

Identify quarantine and regulated pests and diseases, goods that can be imported from specific countries, and treatments or practices required prior to entry. Determine plant products, animals, and meat, dairy, and poultry products for which importers must obtain import permits from APHIS and/or animal health or phytosanitary certificates from the exporting country. However, live plants and seed, including nursery stock, can enter without permit, unless specifically listed as a problem. Certificates verify that animals meet health standards, shipments were found pest-free, or that required treatments were applied.

Ports of Entry Activities (APHIS and Department of Homeland Security)

Inspections: Inspect cargo, freight shipments, vehicles, and passengers and baggage (also mail, military equipment, troop supplies, international garbage, ship and airline stores) at first point of entry (such as airports, seaports, border crossings), internal U.S. locations, or country of origin.

Control: Destroy, treat, or return to country of origin shipments infested with a prohibited pest or disease. Treat or destroy prohibited items brought in by travelers, international garbage, and ship and airline stores. Reject shipments without required import permits or phytosanitary certificates. Require post-entry quarantine for some live plants and animals to determine if pests are present.

Offshore Activities (APHIS)

Cooperate with selected exporting countries to mitigate pest or disease risks within their boundaries. Assess pest or disease threats, monitor the pest or disease in the exporting country, and develop control strategies to meet U.S. requirements, such as pest-free areas, eradication programs, preshipment inspections, preshipment or in-transit treatments, or phytosanitary certificates.

In some countries, APHIS conducts monitoring and/or control programs to exclude pests or diseases from the United States. or to prepare for their introduction.

Note: Additional information on APHIS prevention and exclusion programs is available at VS National Center for Imports and Exports website and the PPQ Crop Biosecurity and Quarantine Policy, Analysis and Support websites. The responsibilities of APHIS and DHS in ports of entry programs are detailed in the Memorandum of Understanding between DHS and USDA.

APHIS Domestic Pest and Disease Programs

These are programs to detect and manage alien pests or diseases that have entered the United States, often in cooperation with State Government agencies and agricultural producers.

Pest and Disease Surveillance, Detection, and Monitoring

Identify the presence and severity of pest infestations. Data support decisions about control programs, the development of control methods, and export certification. APHIS has a special program for fruit fly exclusion and detection, with both domestic and offshore components.

The Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS): A cooperative Federal/State network to detect plant pests. APHIS has cooperative agreements with States to survey for selected pests.

National Agricultural Pest Information System (NAPIS): Plant pest data are entered into NAPIS, which can be accessed for pest forecasting and control decision-making.

National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS): A cooperative Federal/State/industry effort to collect information about the status of animal health in the United States. APHIS/VS conducts national statistical surveys of poultry and livestock.

Eradication and Control

Responses to detection include eradication, containment, or control. Some efforts are conducted by APHIS, while many are cooperative with State agencies and other organizations.

Rapid response programs: Programs to eradicate new plant pest or animal disease outbreaks or contain them in a small area. Early or rapid response teams develop and implement strategies to measure the extent of new plant pest outbreaks and to eradicate or manage them. Often funded by the emerging plant pests budget, emergency management systems budget (for animal diseases), and other contingency funds.

Extraordinary emergency: APHIS can quarantine State or sub-State regions, prohibit sale or shipment of crops, livestock, or other articles outside the area, and require destruction or other practices to control or contain pests or diseases.

Regulatory programs: USDA can require producers and others to use specific practices for new alien pests or diseases that have entered the U.S., are moving interstate, and, in the case of extraordinary emergencies, within State boundaries. Those measures can include destruction or treatment of animals, commodities, plants, pests, or the means of moving them.

Eradication or control of established species: Federal/State cooperation to control or eradicate established alien pests. The National Center for Animal Health Program coordinates animal disease programs, while the Pest Detection and Management Staff of PPQ coordinates plant pest programs.

Note:  Additional information about APHIS domestic programs is available on the PPQ Crop Biosecurity and on the Veterinary Services websites.