Regional Biosecurity Plan for Micronesia and Hawaii Volume I Prepared by: University of Guam and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community 2014 This plan was prepared in conjunction with representatives from various countries at various levels including federal/national, state/territory/commonwealth, industry, and non-governmental organizations and was generously funded and supported by the Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) and Headquarters, Marine Corps. Suggested Citation United States Department of the Navy. 2015. Regional Biosecurity Plan for Micronesia and Hawaii, {specify volume}. Eds. University of Guam and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Volume I 1. Forward v 2. Mission Statement vii 3. Executive Summary ix 4. Introduction 1 4-1. Background 1 4-2. Overview on Invasive Species 2 4-3. Pathways and Vectors Definitions 7 5. Limitations to the Scope of the Regional Biosecurity Plan 7 6. Overview of the Region 8 7. Pertinent Regulatory Drivers 10 8. Overview of the Proposed U.S. Department of Defense Build-up 10 9. Risk Assessments 11 9-1. Overview of the Risk Assessment Process 11 9-2. Caveats to the Risk Assessments 12 10. Example Species of Concern 15 11. Implementation Strategy 16 11-1. Challenges 16 11-2. Needs 18 11-3. Recommendations 18 11-4. Strategies 21 11-5. Costs 26 11-6. Conclusions 28 12. Concluding Remarks 30 13. Citations 31 14. List of Abbreviations 41 15. List of Key Terms 47 16. Acknowledgments 51 Attachment A: Overview of the Island Jurisdictions Included in the Regional Biosecurity Plan Attachment B: Existing Pertinent Rules and Regulations Attachment C: Chuuk State Biosecurity Recommendations Attachment D: Kosrae State Biosecurity Recommendations Attachment E: Pohnpei State Biosecurity Recommendations Attachment F: Yap State Biosecurity Recommendations Attachment G: Federated States of Micronesia National Biosecurity Recommendations Attachment H: Republic of the Marshall Islands Biosecurity Recommendations Attachment I: Republic of Palau Biosecurity Recommendations Attachment J: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Biosecurity Recommendations Attachment K: State of Hawaii Biosecurity Recommendations Attachment L: Territory of Guam Biosecurity Recommendations Attachment M: United States Department of Defense Biosecurity Recommendations Attachment N: United States Regional Biosecurity Recommendations Attachment O: Models iii Attachment P: Biosecurity Officer Qualifications Attachment Q: List of Consultancy Trips Attachment R: List of Implementation Strategy Workshop Attendees Volume II: Executive Summary to the Risk Assessments and the Freshwater Systems Risk Assessment Volume III: Marine Systems Risk Assessment and Supplement to the Regional Biosecurity Plan for Micronesia and Hawaii Marine Risk Assessment Volume IV: Terrestrial Systems Risk Assessment iv 1. Forward This document, the Regional Biosecurity Plan for Micronesia and Hawaii or RBP, is the work of many, in fact hundreds of individuals. Various government agencies, organizations, and individuals have contributed either through preparing texts that have become elements of this overall document and/or by supplying detailed comments and suggestions which have been used to build the implementation strategy. The concept of building this plan with such extensive input was felt to be the appropriate mechanism to insure that biosecurity needs for the region were comprehensively documented and it is to be hoped that any errors which do exist in this document are minimal and that any existing errors can over time be identified and corrected for future editions of this living document. The RBP was originally termed the Micronesia Biosecurity Plan or MBP. Since the inception of the plan the term MBP has been used for a variety of subcomponents as well as to reference the overall project and the term can be found in earlier documents and components including the risk assessments which are part of the RBP. The risk assessment sections of this document are by far the largest components. These assessments contain a vast array of useful information and details and end users are encouraged to explore them in order to benefit fully from these assessments. Given the extensive size of the risk assessments, an attempt was made to keep the strategic implementation component of the plan as streamlined as feasible to assist end users. The implementation section hinges on the recommendation tables, one table for each jurisdiction, plus additional tables for the U.S. (covering its three jurisdictions within the region) and for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). In this regard, the U.S. regional and DoD are treated as jurisdictions, although strictly speaking they are not. The three jurisdictions which fall under U.S. federal oversight and are part of this plan are only a part of the area covered by the U.S. federal jurisdiction. DoD is a department of the U.S. federal government with facilities, personnel, and materials in many areas around the globe. This plan only covers those DoD elements which are within the region or which are either entering or departing the region. The preparers of the RBP have agreed that the task at hand was not to write a biosecurity plan for the region per se, but rather to serve as compilers, editors, and synthesizers working to produce a regional biosecurity strategy from the input of experts and stakeholders from throughout the region as well as supplementing this core input with additional material from experts from beyond the region as appropriate. Ultimately, what the reader of this document will find is what local, regional, and global experts and stakeholders have suggested should be included in this document. Some jurisdictions provided much more input than others. It is hoped that the information provided in this plan will assist each and every jurisdiction as well as the region in moving forward with improving biosecurity across the board (within jurisdictions, between jurisdictions, and for the region, as well as for linkages outside the region). This plan was drafted and developed with the intention that it should remain a living document and that once the final product has been delivered to the jurisdictions, the jurisdictions themselves would v determine how best to move forward with recommendations, implementation, and updating their elements of the plan as needed in order to insure that it remains current and ultimately functional. It is hoped that updates both in regards to advancements towards meeting specific recommendations as well as to the plan itself will be shared between jurisdictions and supported by the region, ultimately ensuring that the plan remains a regional concept with a regional focus but driven by the individual jurisdictions via regional agreements and continued planning, development, and implementation. vi 2. Mission Statement The concept of the RBP is visionary in its scope. The transfer of invasive species or invasive alien species (IAS) to the region and within the region is real, ongoing, and an increasing problem that must be addressed. The spatial scale for this plan is extremely broad, encompassing most of Micronesia and the archipelago of Hawaii. The plan attempts to cover the broadest possible extent of habitats and taxonomic groups including terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems. This overall approach is unprecedented due to the broad geographic and taxonomic scope, as well as inclusion of multiple countries and cultures. The primary entities covered by the RBP are listed below. These entities are often referred to as jurisdictions within the RBP, as most of them are government jurisdictions. The U.S. Federal Government, as it relates to its jurisdictions within the region The U.S. Territory of Guam, commonly referred to as Guam The U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands or CNMI The U.S. state of Hawaii, commonly referred to as Hawaii The Federated States of Micronesia or FSM The FSM state of Chuuk The FSM state of Kosrae The FSM state of Pohnpei The FSM state of Yap The Republic of Palau, commonly referred to as Palau The Republic of the Marshall Islands or RMI The DoD The approach used to develop the RBP explicitly considers multiple vectors and environments (marine, freshwater, and terrestrial systems) together, using an appropriate spatial scale at which invasions operate. The implementation of this large-scale, integrative, and cross-cutting strategy should result in improved biosecurity protection, efficiency, and consistency, compared to advancing many individual activities in isolation. By cross-cutting we refer to the fact that invasive species negatively affect most major concerns within the region such as climate change adaptation, human health, green economy development, natural resources conservation, economic stability and growth, food security, etc. and that by addressing invasive species via appropriate biosecurity we are in fact positively affecting all of vii these major concerns. The implementation guidance within the RBP supports establishment of a coordinated and consistent strategy internationally, across multiple countries and cultures. Most current understanding and management of invasions come from temperate latitudes and continents, but this plan aims to address invasions on tropical islands ecosystems. Even though Micronesia and Hawaii encompass a large area including multiple countries, current levels of trade and the number of points of entry are few relative to many other global