To this end when the Caribbean Invasive Species Working Group (CISWG) holds its annual meeting on Friday 18 July in Miami , it is anticipated that much discussion will focus on mechanisms for collaboration on the issue of invasive species in the Caribbean Basin . It is also expected there will be much discussion on the potential economic fall out that could arise in the absence coordinated action to tackle the threat of invasive species.
The meeting is taking place at a time of increase sightings of invasive species across the English, Dutch, French and Spanish speaking Caribbean as highlighted at a US Department of Agriculture programme for Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture Research, T-STAR, sponsored symposium on invasive species in Miami on Tuesday July 15.
In many instances the species have also found their way to the South American countries that are washed by the Caribbean Sea and in the US State of Florida. The fast pace at which the invasive species move is proving to be a challenge for scientists, who informed the symposium that they have had to double their efforts in order to ensure that the situation does not get out of hand. Even so some scientists reported that some invasive species such as the Red Palm Mite which attacks palms- both coconut and ornamental is already on their doorsteps.
At the CISWG meeting reports are to be presented on a number of initiatives currently on the way to provide support to enable the Caribbean to identify, control and manage invasive species. Chief among these is the Caribbean Invasive Species Surveillance and Information Programme (CISSIP). This project is aimed at protecting the Caribbean region from pests- a category of invasive species, provide timely information on the status of pests and support pests risk assessment which are needed to facilitate trade. An internet based network of diagnostic laboratories and specialists will be established and utilised in the fight against invasive species. The issue of funding for this project is expected to be hotly debated.
The meeting will also receive a report from the inaugural meeting of Directors of Plant Health in the Caribbean which was hosted by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat in April 2008. The Meeting was supported by the United States Department of Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) Inter American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) the French Agency for Animal and Plant Health, CIRAD and CARDI.
The Caribbean Invasive Species Working Group comprises all English, French, Dutch and Spanish speaking countries/territories in the Caribbean Basin , including the States of the United States of America (USA) bordering the Gulf of Mexico.
The Working Group, which is chaired by CARDI, is comprised of CARICOM Secretariat; CAB International; Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO); the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA); University of the West Indies (UWI); University of Florida; CIRAD; Florida A&M University; IDIAF; USDA-APHIS and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO).
The membership of the Working Group was endorsed by the 19th Meeting of the CARICOM Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED). The COTED charged the Working Group to develop fundable proposals for strengthening the Region’s ability to safeguard itself against Invasive Alien Species.
Editor’s Note:
“Invasive species” means an alien species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic environmental harm or harm to human health.
“Alien species” means, with respect to a particular ecosystem, any species, including its seeds, eggs, spores, or other biological material capable of propagating that species, that is not native to that ecosystem.
