Canadian Forest Service Publications
The Economic Feasibility of the Gypsy Moth Eradication Program in British Columbia. 2019. Sun, B., Bogdanski, B.E.C., Van Hezewijk, B. Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Pacific Forestry Centre, Victoria, British Columbia. Information report BC-X-450. 25 p.
Year: 2019
Issued by: Pacific Forestry Centre
Catalog ID: 39964
Language: English
Series: Information Report (PFC - Victoria)
Availability: PDF (download)
Plain Language Summary
This report presents the results of the evaluation of the net benefits of current efforts to prevent GM establishment in British Columbia. In this study we compare the expected net economic losses from damaged trees and other vegetation, and the increased burden of a quarantine if the prevention program was abandoned, to the on-going costs of the prevention program. The main finding of the study is that under most plausible scenarios, the current prevention program is an efficient means to prevent future damage from the gypsy moth. That is, we find the expected benefits of the current pest management strategy exceed its expected costs for all scenarios considered but one. The one negative outcome considers an unlikely scenario with no quarantine costs imposed by trading partners (United States) and very low expected avoidable damage to values at risk. Under the most plausible scenarios, we find that the expected annual benefits from current prevention program range from 3.4 to 8.3 times greater than the expected annual costs of the program, based on an average program costs. Overall, the analysis supports the continuation of the British Columbia GM prevention program.
