Evaluating Efficacy of an Environmental Policy to Prevent Biological Invasions

• Published in: Environmental science & technology Vol. 45; no. 7; pp. 2554 - 2561
• Main Authors: Bailey, Sarah A, Deneau, Matthew G, Jean, Laurent, Wiley, Chris J, Leung, Brian, MacIsaac, Hugh J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 01.04.2011
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Aquatic ecosystems; Aquatic Organisms; Biodiversity; Compliance; Conservation of Natural Resources; Environmental Policy; Environmental protection; Environmental regulations; Exact sciences and technology; Government Regulation; Introduced Species - legislation & jurisprudence; Introduced Species - statistics & numerical data; Pollution; Ships - legislation & jurisprudence; Ships - methods; Great Lakes of America; North America; America; Performance evaluation; Invasive species; Introduced species; Environmental policy; Ballast; Maritime transportation; Biological contamination; Environmental protection
• ISSN: 0013-936X; 1520-5851
• DOI: 10.1021/es102655j

Enactment of any environmental policy should be followed by an evaluation of its efficacy to ensure optimal utilization of limited resources, yet measuring the success of these policies can be a challenging task owing to a dearth of data and confounding factors. We examine the efficacy of ballast water policies enacted to prevent biological invasions in the Laurentian Great Lakes. We utilize four criteria to assess the efficacy of this environmental regulation: (1) Is the prescribed management action demonstrably effective? (2) Is the management action effective under operational conditions? (3) Can compliance be achieved on a broad scale? (4) Are desired changes observed in the environment? The four lines of evidence resulting from this analysis indicate that the Great Lakes ballast water management program provides robust, but not complete, protection against ship-mediated biological invasions. Our analysis also indicates that corresponding inspection and enforcement efforts should be undertaken to ensure that environmental policies translate into increased environmental protection. Similar programs could be implemented immediately around the world to protect the biodiversity of the many freshwater ecosystems which receive ballast water discharges by international vessels. This general framework can be extended to evaluate efficacy of other environmental policies.