Exotic pests and diseases have long been an important concern in
agriculture. The problem is becoming increasingly urgent and
complex because agricultural trade has been liberalized worldwide,
and as a consequence, the probability of spreading a disease or a
pest through national borders has become a real threat, not only
for the agricultural industry but also for human health and the
natural environment.
This edited volume's list of international contributors
reads like a Who's Who of international agricultural
research! This book includes ten interdisciplinary case studies
that focus on specific pests or diseases that represent a range of
threats to U. S. agriculture, wild lands and the urban landscape,
and possible government responses to these threats. Each chapter
combines, in an original fashion, biological foundations and
implications for the public, giving powerful insights to a series
of public policy issues of national and international relevance. In
many instances, economic analysis of alternative policies is
included.
Exotic pest control is discussed in a public good general
framework, and under the international regulatory laws comprised by
the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Protocol of the WTO.
