Policy and Legal Framework for Managing Biosecurity

Abstract

In terms of plant biosecurity management, the world has become smaller, this is evident in the reduced time as well as the increased speed, forms of transport and distance to transmit potential incursions. Borders between nation states are no longer seen as separators but more as the boundaries between the identities of different groups of people who nevertheless communicate with each other. Direct commu­nication between individual regions in different countries is frequent, even when communication between those same countries at an official level may be less frequent. Advancements in transport technologies have increased the movement of people and goods from one region to another. This movement brings along with it positive outcomes, such as trading in or sharing goods, information and services, but also negative outcomes such as the introduction of pests and diseases. The latter, of course, designates the focus of this chapter, which is on the policy and legal frameworks in which biosecurity currently rests. However, while policy and legal frameworks are potential facilitators of, or impediments to, effective national and international biosecurity, it is presently not understood what these are, who the originating bodies are, nor how policies at national, regional and local levels mesh (or not) to produce effective biosecurity management.

Effective management of biosecurity lies in the hands of many players: international, national and local. This chapter provides an introduction to existing policy and legal frameworks for biosecurity that are presently in force, and finishes by outlining some of the key issues that are suggested by these influences. The international framework starts with a discussion about International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) which is the international framework regarding policy and strategy in regards to integration of national plant biosecurity policymaking. It continues by describing the UN Convention on Biodiversity which sets down some principles of engagement for policy sectors at all levels, and of particular relevance for this chapter, provides guidelines for how they should work with local communities who, in turn, possess the local knowledge that in many cases has already effectively managed biosecurity in regional areas. The guiding question addressed in the chapter is: What are the prevailing international, national, and local policy and legal frameworks impacting on effective management of biosecurity? Related to this is the practical question of what can be done to improve the effectiveness of bio­security management using these frameworks? The findings of research undertaken to address these questions, including the need for improved local government capacity in dealing with international policy frameworks, suggest the need for a new develop­ment paradigm.