Hawai'i has recently launched a new invasive species dashboard that aims to document and coordinate management efforts, according to StateScoop.
Over the summer, legislators passed a law mandating that the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity build this dashboard. It includes invasive species data from the Departments of Land and Natural Resources, Health, and Transportation, Hawai'i's various counties, the University of Hawai'i College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience, and community organizations.
Regulators said this should streamline efforts that were previously difficult to deploy.
"Every time we have found a new invasive species, we've gotten very tangled up in policy procedures," said Sen. Tim Richards, according to Civil Beat.
The dashboard is already showing how rhinoceros beetles, coqui frogs, and little fire ants are causing damage to local ecosystems, and what work is being done to slow their spread. That work pays off, too. One study showed how efforts to fight against invasive species in Hawai'i were able to improve groundwater supplies.
Invasive species are typically introduced to new environments by way of human transportation. Once free of the checks and balances they evolved with, species can rapidly outcompete others in their new habitat. Over time, invasives establish monopolies on important resources, push out native species, reduce biodiversity, and cause a decline in vital ecosystem services.
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This kind of damage equals hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of economic damage every year around the world, according to one study.
Hawaiian lawmakers were hopeful that the new dashboard would do more than just inform residents.
"This invasive species dashboard not only provides important information to the public on invasive species programs but also helps to increase communication and coordination between government agencies and other organizations that have the mutual goal of protecting Hawai'i's agriculture and environment," said Sharon Hurd, chairperson of the Hawai'i Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity.
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