[Reader-list] Globalisation and biodiversity

[Rana Dasgupta]

Attached is article from BBC site which looks at a
perhaps less conspicuous aspect of globalisation: the
gradual erosion of local biological particularities in
favour of a (much less diverse) global bioculture. 
this is said to happpen partly through human design
and partly as an inadvertent side-effect of global
commerce.

perhaps somebody who knows more about this than me can
give some indication as to:

--the extent to which anything that is happening now
is new or different (such species exchange is as old
as human trade).

--the extent to which ecosystems can adapt to
accommodate new species etc.  

--the rate at which new species are born, compared to
existing ones dying out.

It seems difficult to assess the seriousness of the
Crazy Ant's slaughter of land crabs without
understanding the inherent ability of the systems to
accommodate change.  

[I leave aside the plausible connection between the
closing down of national boundaries and the extension
of the concept of 'illegal immigration' into nature
itself.  It's apparently World Biodiversity Day today
so I'm trying to think about nature rather than
culture...]

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Conservationists have warned that exotic species of
animals and plants are causing havoc around the globe
after escaping, often with human help, from their
native habitats. 

To mark Tuesday's World Biodiversity Day, the World
Conservation Union has issued a list of the 100 worst
invasive alien species. 

Looking down the list, one finds the
attractive-sounding water hyacinth and the rosy
wolfsnail; the brown tree snake and the feral pig
perhaps less so. 

But, whatever one thinks of their looks, all have
proved destructive pests when taken out of their
natural environments and introduced into new habitats.


The South American water hyacinth does indeed have
lovely purple flowers; but on five continents it has
spread from ornamental ponds to choke waterways, stop
boat traffic, fishing and swimming, and prevent
sunlight and oxygen from reaching plants in deeper
water. 

Intention or accident

Some pests were originally spread deliberately by
humans; the small Indian mongoose was taken from Asia
to the West Indies to control rats, but it has wiped
out several native birds, reptiles and amphibians, as
well as carrying rabies. 

Others spread accidentally, hitchhiking in ships'
holds or packing cases. 

Crazy ants, so called because of their erratic
movements, killed three million land crabs in 18
months on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. 

The World Conservation Union is calling on such bodies
as the World Trade Organisation to recognise the
threat posed by globalisation of trade - and even by
development aid, as agricultural materials can contain
the seeds of exotic weeds. 

It also wants sea and airports to watch out for
invading species, and says authorities must be ready
to act quickly when an infestation is detected. 


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