|
Economics of Climate Change and Vulnerability to
Invasive Plant Species on British
Columbia Rangelands
 As climate change proceeds, species that
already have invaded North America may find new
suitable habitats within our continent to invade, thereby expanding their
range. Moreover, new exotic species not previously present in North America may find it possible to invade as well.
This project is part of a larger project, entitled “Secondary Effects
of Climate Change on Human and Ecosystem Health: A Risk Based Approach”, funded by SFU's
Community Trust Endowment Fund (CTEF). Our project is building on existing
research to examine the economic consequences of climate change for
the advance of alien plant species in BC by taking into account the uncertain
impacts of climate change on ecosystems. The dearth of  policy attention to climate change linkages with invasive species and,
ultimately, loss of biodiversity and other damages stems from a lack of
detailed estimates of the economic losses at stake. The current study
attempts to fill this gap for one or more selected species or land types in
BC. The study is modeling the economic losses associated with one or
more invasive species or vulnerable habitats (e.g. land types, agro-climatic
zones), taking the influence of climate change explicitly into account. Such
an approach must be risk-based, since it is uncertain how severe climate
change will be and, additionally, how any given set of climate change
assumptions will modify the boundaries of existing habitats.
Please visit the Climate Change Impacts Research Consortium (CCIRC) project at SFU which is funding this research for more information.
|
