Exotic Pests and Diseases

Exotic pests and diseases have long been an important concern inagriculture. The problem is becoming increasingly urgent andcomplex because agricultural trade has been liberalized worldwide,and as a consequence, the probability of spreading a disease or apest through national borders has become a real threat, not onlyfor the agricultural industry but also for human health and thenatural environment.This edited volume's list of international contributorsreads like a Who's Who of international agriculturalresearch! This book includes ten interdisciplinary case studiesthat focus on specific pests or diseases that represent a range ofthreats to U.S. agriculture, wild lands and the urban landscape,and possible government responses to these threats. Each chaptercombines, in an original fashion, biological foundations andimplications for the public, giving powerful insights to a seriesof public policy issues of national and international relevance. Inmany instances, economic analysis of alternative policies isincluded.Exotic pest control is discussed in a public good generalframework, and under the international regulatory laws comprised bythe Sanitary and Phytosanitary Protocol of the WTO.

Preface.Contributors.Chapter 1 Introduction and Overview.Chapter 2 Economics of Exotic Pests Policy.Chapter 3 An Overview of Regulatory and Institutional Aspect ofExotic Pests and Disease Control.Chapter 4 International Trade Law and the Control of ExoticPests.Chapter 5 Historical Perspectives on Exotic Pests and Diseasesin California Agriculture.Case Studies.Chapter 6 Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy: Lessons from theUnited Kingdom.Chapter 7 Potential Impact of a Foot and Mouth DiseaseOutbreak.Chapter 8 Risk Assessment of Plant Parasitic Nematodes.Chapter 9 Ex-Ante Economics of Exotic Disease Policy: CitrusCanker in California.Chapter 10 An Insect Pest for Agricultural, Urban, and WildlifeAreas: The Red Imported Fire Ant.Chapter 11 A Rational Risk Policy for Regulating Plant Diseasesand Pests: The Case of Karnal Bunt.Chapter 12 Introduction and Establishment of Exotic Insect andMite Pests of Avocados: Evaluating Changes in Policy.Chapter 13 Ash Whitefly and Biological Control in the UrbanEnvironment.Chapter 14 Economic Consequences of a New Exotic Pest: TheIntroduction of Rice Blast Disease.Chapter 15 Biological Control of Yellow Starthistle: A CostBenefit Analysis.Glossary of Terms and Acronyms.Index