Alien species a growing menace: experts

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Alien species of plants and animals will become an increasing menace over the next decade due to the rapid development of the world economy and a lack of awareness of proper prevention measures, experts have warned.

A greater number and variety of invasive species may be accidentally introduced into China with the rapid growth of world trade, tourism and transportation, said Wan Fanghao, director of the department of invasive biology at the institute of plant protection under the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

This will threaten agriculture and even human health, Wan said.

Imported agricultural products, packing boxes and containers can easily act as alien carriers,he told China Daily.

An invasion of alien species can cause untold damage if adequate measures to tackle it are not taken, he added.

China, one of the countries most affected, has confirmed more than 520 varieties of alien species, including 268 plants, 198 animals, and microorganisms.

Annual economic losses in China caused by the presence of just 13 alien species, including whitefly, leaf miner and rice-water weevil, exceed 57 billion yuan ($9 billion), academy figures showed.

Border quarantine officers registered more than 320,000 detections of 3,400 harmful species at entry points in the first nine months of last year, according to figures from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

Insects account for about half of the harmful species detected.

Other harmful species include weeds, roundworms, fungi, bacteria and viruses.

On Tuesday, the administration ordered stricter inspections on fruit imports from the Philippines after harmful organisms were found in several shipments.

It said insects and bacteria had been found in pineapples, bananas and other fruits imported from the Philippines in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Shandong.

Some invasive species, that could have been tackled or eliminated by strict prevention and control measures, now prevail across the country, experts said.

Questions:

1. What activities may be accidentally introducing invasive species into China?

2. What do the invasive species threaten?

3. How many harmful species were detected at entry points?

Answers:

1. Rapid growth of world trade, tourism and transportation.

2. Agriculture and human health.

3. 320,000.

About the broadcaster:

Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.