Guidelines and framework to assess the feasibility of starting pre-emptive risk assessment of classical biological control agents

Avila, Gonzalo A. (author), Seehausen, Lukas (author), Lesieur, Vincent (author), Chhagan, Asha (author), Batistič, Luka (author), Bohinc, Tanja (author), Kenis, Mark (author), Laznik, Žiga (author), Berić, Tanja (author), Trdan, Stanislav (author), Barratt, Barbara I.P. (author)

Non-native invasive arthropod species threaten biodiversity and food security worldwide, resulting in substantial economic, environmental, social and cultural costs. Classical biological control (CBC) is regarded as a cost-effective component of integrated pest management programmes to manage invasive arthropod pests sustainably. However, CBC programmes are traditionally conducted once a pest has established in a new environment, and invariably all research needed to achieve approval to release a biological control agent can take several years. During that time, adverse impacts of the pest accelerate. A pre-emptive biocontrol approach will provide the opportunity to develop CBC for invasive pests before they arrive in the country at risk of introduction and therefore enhance preparedness. A critical aspect of this approach is that risk assessment is carried out in advance of the arrival of the pest. Implementing pre-emptive biocontrol risk assessment means that natural enemies can be selected, screened in containment or abroad and potentially pre-approved prior to a pest establishing in the country at risk, thus improving CBC effectiveness. However, such an approach may not always be feasible. This contribution defines the fundamental prerequisites, principles, and objectives of pre-emptive biocontrol risk assessment. A set of guidelines and a decision framework were developed, which can be used to assess the feasibility of conducting a pre-emptive risk assessment for candidate biological control agents against high-risk arthropod pests.

• Language: English
• Keywords: preparedness, proactive, invasive species, high-risk pest, biosecurity
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.02 - Review Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2023
• Number of pages: 14 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 187, arti. 105387
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-152736
• UDC: 632
• ISSN on article: 1049-9644
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biocontrol.2023.105387
• COBISS.SI-ID: 170689795
• Publication date in RUL: 05.12.2023

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Biological control
• Shortened title: Biol. control
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 1049-9644
• COBISS.SI-ID: 1450005

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
• Description: A creative commons license that bans commercial use, but the users don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: škodljivci rastlin, biotično varstvo, sredstva za biološko zatiranje, pripravljenost, invazivne vrste, škodljivci z visokim tveganjem, biološka varnost, prehranska varnost