Biosecurity: a systems perspective By Susan M. Hester, Lucie M. Bland, Edith Arndt, Sana Bau, James S. Camac, Evelyn Mannix, Raphaël Trouvé, Andrew P. Robinson (Ed.), Boca Raton (USA) and Abingdon (UK): CRC Press. 2024. pp. 272, ISBN: 978 103,218 168 4 (hardback), 978 103,218 169 1 (paperback), 978 100,325 320 4 (eBook)

Abstract

Biosecurity: A Systems Perspective is a book edited by Susan M. Hester, Lucie M. Bland, Edith Arndt, Sana Bau, James S. Camac, Evelyn Mannix, Raphaël Trouvé, and Andrew P. Robinson. Susan is an associate professor at the University of New England Business School. Lucie is a biological scientist, Edith is a biosecurity research fellow and has worked in the public service, Sana is an environmental scientist, James is an applied ecologist, Evelyn is an artificial intelligence research fellow, Raphaël is an ecologist and statistical modeller and Andrew is a statistician. All the editors work at the Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk Analysis (CEBRA) at the University of Melbourne in Australia. This book has twenty-five contributors who have backgrounds in agricultural and resource economics, statistics, environmental science, ecology, public policy and business. The majority of the contributors are from Australia with one contributor from New Zealand and another from Hawai'i. Therefore, the perspectives and examples in this book are mostly drawn from the Australian context.

Globally, the rate at which pests and diseases are spreading within and between countries is alarming. This increased rate of spread of pests and diseases is due to various factors such as climate change and globalisation. Consequently, most countries require a robust biosecurity system to reduce the risk of spread of pests and diseases and ultimately their economic, social and environmental impacts. In this book, the authors recognise that pests and diseases have broad impacts on society. Consequently, the authors define a biosecurity system as “a suite of management activities implemented by a jurisdiction to protect its economy, environment and human health from damaging impacts of pests and diseases” (page 5). The authors also suggest that biosecurity should be viewed from a systems perspective as a complex system of interactions between several actors in recognition that biosecurity systems consist of social, economic and political sub-systems all of which need to be considered when managing biosecurity challenges.

The link between economics and risk analysis is an aspect that is always ill-defined making it difficult for economists to clearly see their role in the field of biosecurity. This book provides four broad areas where economics can be applied to biosecurity. First, the authors suggest that a comprehensive risk assessment should include economic evaluation of the consequences of biosecurity threats. Examples of the economic evaluation methods outlined include benefit cost analysis, partial equilibrium models, computable general equilibrium models and non-market valuation techniques. Although it is unlikely that an economist will assess the risk of entry of pests and diseases, the book outlines how such computations are done using examples. This makes it easier for economists to understand the parameters required to evaluate the impact of biosecurity threats as part of a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary team. Second, the authors highlight application of economics in understanding the impacts of different regulatory models. The regulatory models highlighted in this book include traditional command-and-control (i.e., mandatory inspection of all consignments), risk-based regulation (i.e., applying of inspection resources according to risk profile of imported goods) and incentive regulation (i.e., use of reward and punitive measures to induce behaviour change depending on regulator's objective). Most countries have limited resources and, therefore, readers can explore the most cost-effective regulatory methods applicable to their setting. Third, the application of economics in biosecurity is highlighted in Section 3 which discusses the cost evaluation of surveillance systems. There are diverse types of surveillance systems each with its own costs and benefits. In this section, the reader explores how to develop an optimal surveillance system and evaluate its costs and benefits. Fourth, the authors highlight that economics can be used to design biosecurity markets to increase efficiency and incentives in investing in biosecurity efforts. For most farmers and policymakers, biosecurity threats are always intangible or considered speculative before they enter a country. This makes it challenging for governments and other stakeholders to invest in biosecurity. Therefore, in this book, readers can explore how market instruments can be applied in biosecurity to incentivise biosecurity efforts.

Apart from articulation of the application of economics to evaluate biosecurity efforts and impacts, the authors outline innovative ways of data collection. What is missing in the book is an insight on how artificial intelligence or similar approaches can be used to innovatively manage biosecurity to reduce cost. We live in era where artificial intelligence will be widely used presenting both opportunities and challenges. Biosecurity usually involves inspection of several consignments to detect biosecurity threats resulting in high operational cost; artificial intelligence can be used to reduce some of the operational cost.

The examples used in this book are mostly drawn from the Australian context as mentioned earlier. Australia, just like most developed countries, has a more sophisticated biosecurity system compared to developing countries. Investment in sophisticated biosecurity systems is largely driven by international trade and market access. Regardless, the perspectives presented in this book are still relevant to developing countries as they can be used to guide the development of cost-effective and resilient biosecurity systems.

I enjoyed reading this book. The book provides valuable insights on how biosecurity systems are developed and managed. In my opinion, the value of this book to economists is on how economics can be applied to biosecurity given the massive resources required to manage biosecurity systems as well as the complexity of impacts and decision-making processes associated with biosecurity. Furthermore, the perspectives presented in the book suggest that multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches are required to manage biosecurity threats with economics playing a crucial role in resource allocation and decision making. Hence, I think policymakers and researchers from both developed and developing countries will find this book worth a read.