What Might Happen if We Thought Differently about Weed Risk and Risk Management? The potential of innovations in laws and policies to address weeds infestations: an illustration with the case study of second-generation biofuels crops

Abstract

What might happen if we thought differently about weed risk and risk management? In two recent national weeds conferences there have been research papers pointing the potential of innovative market economy concepts - as alternative or complementary mechanisms to current domestic laws and policies - for addressing the weed risk. These suggestions are being explored as part of a PhD program undertaken at the Australian Centre for Agriculture and Law, University of New England. The goal of this research is to explore new legal and regulatory avenues for addressing the old weeds challenge by focusing on the case study of second-generation biofuels crops. These, despite their invasibility features, could play a key role in the production of bio-ethanol to enhance an ecologically sustainable economic development. This project also aims to reinforce corporate accountability by ensuring that the costs of the biofuels weeds risk are borne by the risk beneficiaries and improve the NRM model for weeds control and weeds management. More specifically, it investigates the potential use of innovative risk management strategies developed in the commercial and financial sector to address the depletion of natural resources and the environmental services provided by natural ecosystems. Risk information, risk pricing, risk pooling and risk sharing are the key elements of these commercial instruments. This is the aim of this presentation to expose the key elements underpinning such a novel approach to manage the weeds risk. It is argued that the conceptual architecture for a co-regulatory risk management model which has been developed since the beginning of this research could be transposed within the weeds context to address effectively this challenge. The developments of this conference paper revolve around two key questions: why and how to think differently to address the weeds risk?