The toolkit has been produced under the auspices of the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP). GISP was founded in 1997 as a small, mainly voluntary partnership programme, by three international organizations: The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), CAB International (CABI), and the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE). In early 2005, GISP was constituted as a legal entity with Founding Members IUCN, CAB International, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). GISP is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya at CABI Africa.
This toolkit was produced under a grant made by the World Bank and Bank Netherlands Partnership Programme (BNPP), as part of the project “Building Capacity in Africa for Economic Analysis of the Threats Posed by Invasive Alien Species”.
Although it is now widely acknowledged that economic analysis and the use of economic instruments are key to dealing with the problems associated with biological invasions, there remains little guidance as to how economic approaches and tools should be applied in practice. Invasive species have many unique and unusual characteristics which set them apart from other environmental and land use issues, meaning that analysis does not lend itself easily to conventional economics models. A more innovative and thoughtful approach is thus required, which is tailored to the specific issues, problems and features of invasives. Economic analysis needs also to be targeted to providing practical and policy-relevant techniques and information which can be used to support and inform real-world policy, planning and management.
The aim of this toolkit is to provide a clear, user-friendly guide to the application of economic approaches and tools to invasive species. It addresses the issues associated with identifying the factors which cause the spread of invasives, incorporating consideration of invasive species into economic planning and policy-making, and identifying economic tools and measures to support on-the-ground management actions designed to address biological invasions. This toolkit has been produced for use in training courses to be held in Africa. It is targeted primarily at economists working in research and planning – in universities, research institutions, government agencies and non-governmental organisations. However, it is intended that the toolkit will also provide guidance on economics tools and approaches to scientists who are working on invasive species management.
The toolkit employs a modular approach and works through a series of iterative steps that can be followed in order to identify, understand, address and manage economic aspects of invasive species. The toolkit’s component modules have been developed for delivery via a 3-day training course, and are accompanied by a workbook of real-world case studies from Africa which illustrate the ways in which economics approaches and tools have been applied to invasive species in practice. It is intended that in the future, similar workbooks can be produced for other regions.
You can download this toolkit for free here.
