Gathering Places
Gathering Places
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY OF HAWAII
Miconia is one of the many invasive plants that have become established in Hawaii.
A plant ban is not the
best way to get controlWhile the recent publicity about Salvinia molesta has brought renewed attention to long-standing invasive plant problems in Hawaii, your proposed "let no plant enter" ban is an overreaction (Star-Bulletin, Feb. 22). The editorial's call to prove a negative (allow no plant entry unless it can be proven not to be invasive) is a well-known activist strategy that is difficult to execute.
Hawaii has dozens of invasive plant species that do not receive attention (read: the funds to control them) because of higher-priority issues before the state government. A complete ban, as you propose, would be difficult to enforce and costly. (Would the state really get serious and provide the necessary dollars?) The vast majority of plants grown in our landscapes, gardens and agricultural businesses have been brought in from many different countries, and the vast majority have yet to demonstrate the kinds of invasiveness that Salvinia, Miconia, ivy gourd, or the banana poka, for example, have shown.
Education is important to guide consumers to avoid purchasing and planting invasive species. If people do not buy a plant, nurseries will not grow it. The Star-Bulletin can be more involved in the education effort than crying for a ban on all plant introductions.
Dr. Curt Daehler of the University of Hawaii's botany department has devised an evaluation system for invasiveness that, while cumbersome, provides a reasonable basis for prohibiting import of plants with invasive potential. Better yet, other states and countries have already identified invasive species that are posted on a variety of Internet sites. In most cases, these lists are not regulatory but advisory. We reinvent the wheel by failing to take advantage of existing resources to identify known plant pests. Florida, for example, spent $20,000 to evaluate 20 species. We should take advantage of that knowledge.
The green industries need to become more involved in the debates, or the drive to control plant entry into Hawaii could spill over into our agriculture (limitations on genetically engineered corn) and tourism industries (limiting what can be planted in hotel landscapes). The nursery and landscape industries need to emphasize their roles as environmental stewards that beautify, benefit the Earth, and add value to homes and businesses.
Given that a number of plant species already are identified as invasive, it would make more sense to regulate against them than to raise the level of paperwork (and time) to import non-invasives that could contribute to our state's economic well-being. Already an emotional issue, legislating plant bans moves into the political arena a complex issue that deserves the study of science.
Richard A. Criley is a professor of horticulture in the Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Science at the University of Hawaii-Manoa.
