Does governance play a role in the distribution of invasive alien species?
Publication Date
2018-02Journal Title
Ecology and evolution
ISSN
2045-7758
Publisher
Wiley
Volume
8
Issue
4
Pages
1984-1994
Language
eng
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
Physical Medium
Electronic-eCollection
Metadata
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Evans, T., Zu Ermgassen, P., Amano, T., & Peh, K. S. (2018). Does governance play a role in the distribution of invasive alien species?. Ecology and evolution, 8 (4), 1984-1994. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3744
Abstract
Invasive alien species (IAS) constitute a major threat to global biological diversity. In order to control their spread, a detailed understanding of the factors influencing their distribution is essential. Although international trade is regarded as a major force structuring spatial patterns of IAS, the role of other social factors remains unclear. Despite studies highlighting the importance of strong governance in slowing drivers of biodiversity loss such as logging, deforestation and agricultural intensification, no study has yet analysed its contribution to the issue of IAS. Using estimates of governance quality and comprehensive spatio-temporal IAS data, we performed multiple linear regressions to investigate the effect of governance quality upon the distribution of species listed under “100 of the worst” IAS in 38 Eurasian countries as defined by DASIE. Our model suggested that for countries with higher GDP, stronger governance was associated with a greater number of the worst IAS; in contrast, for countries with the lowest GDP under analysis, stronger governance was associated with fewer of these IAS. We elucidate how the quality of governance within a country has implications for trade, tourism, transport, legislation and economic development, all of which influence the spread of IAS. While our findings support the common assumption that strengthening governance benefits conservation interventions in countries of smaller economy, we find that this effect is not universal. Stronger governance alone cannot adequately address the problem of IAS, and targeted action is required in relatively high-GDP countries in order to stem the influx of IAS associated with high volumes of trade.
Sponsorship
European Commission (303221)
Embargo Lift Date
2100-01-01
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3744
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/270875
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