SHANGHAI: Shanghai is to take a "zero tolerance" approach toward an invading species of flora and fauna.

The city's commission of agriculture has confirmed that an early warning, quick response system is to be set within two years. The system will cost 50 million yuan ($6.44 million).

The city government is alert to the invasive species - plants, animals, fungi and other organisms - that have accidentally or deliberately been introduced to some parts of the city.

They pose a potential threat to native ecosystems and local biodiversities, causing huge economic loss.

The system will include an early warning control center, 10 regional stations, 100 settled supervision stands, and 300 floating supervision stands, an official with the Commission of Agriculture told China Daily in an interview, requesting anonymity.

"The best way to deal with alien invasive species at low cost is to set up an early warning system," a senior engineer of the Shanghai Landscape Gardening Research Institute, Li Yuezhong, said.

"We have to attach great importance and carry out strict quarantine regulations, aimed at protecting the local ecosystem and environment," he said.

The invasion of the Canada Golden-rod, a herbaceous plant, has reportedly killed more than 30 native plants in Shanghai in recent years.

Other species that have spread to the city include the Ragweed, the Vegetable Leaf Miner and the Banana Moth.

Ministry of Agriculture statistics show that more than 400 invasive species have been brought into the Chinese mainland, with an average increase of one to two new species each year, 50 of which are listed among "100 most threatening global alien species" by the World Conservation Union.

The economic loss each year in China is more than 50 billion yuan, according to the ministry.

The government plans to amend the Plant Quarantine Measures of Shanghai, established in 1985, to give more specified information about invasive species.

(China Daily 07/19/2007 page4)