The Economic Impact of Invasive Species in the Ornamental Commodity in Puerto Rico: Towards Establishing a Multidimensional Framework for Data Collection and Analysis

The ornamental commodity in Puerto Rico is valued for its economic contribution in the agricultural sector, its contribution to the esthetics of natural scenarios that impact the tourism sector, and for its environmental role. In the fiscal year 2001, ornamentals generated 4.8% of the total Agricultural Gross Product. In that year the production value at farm level was $34.1 million, the export value $0.5 million, and the import value $11.5 millions. Of the local production value, 1.5% was exported and 34.3% of the ornamental local market value was imported. The active trade traffic in Puerto Rico is a factor that increases the risk of the introduction of invasive species that affect the agricultural sector. It is necessary to estimate the economic impact of the established invasive species and those with high potential for introduction. The economic analysis must consider the impact on production, on market, and on the environment. The direct and indirect impact on market and non-market areas has to be estimated. The study presented in this paper pretends to gather economic data on the ornamental commodity and biological data on invasive pests and diseases to initiate the development of a comprehensive species risk management framework that incorporates the economic impact of invasive species.