Examples Help Demonstrate the Mechanisms Underlying the Development of Solutions

GUNDEL, P.E.

Conservation Ecology

E&S

Año: 2003 vol. 7 p. 1 - 2

In agreement with Perrings et al. (2002), who say that the problem of invasive alien species is primarily economic and, as such, requires economic solutions, I offer the following example of an invasive species that could only be controlled once it became a natural resource of economic value. The European hare (Lepus europeaus) was introduced to Argentina in 1888 for the purpose of sport hunting (Cabrera 1958 sensu Parisi et al. 1991). A mere 19 years later, it was declared a national plague (Parisi et al. 1991) because of the damage it caused to agriculture (Quintanilla et al. 1973). Initially, eradication efforts and control programs carried out by the National Government failed. However, in 1930, people began exporting hare leathers to Europe, and then, in 1950, meat too. This export trade sparked a demand for commercial hunting (Gonzlez Ruz 1994) and, thus, was the hare population brought under control. Economic profit derived from hare hunting has proved to be the most effective mechanism for maintaining hare populations at densities compatible with farm production (Cossani et al. 2001). Most invasions of alien species occur in complex social systems (with ecological, cultural, and social-economic elements), making it necessary to find self-sustainable mechanisms to reach to a solution. Examples, although they may only be applicable to the analyzed case, help us understand the mechanisms underlying the development of solutions. Nevertheless, the statement that invasions are only an economic problem appears to hold.