Cost-Benefit analysis for Dutch elm disease (Ophiostoma ulmi) in Manitoba, Canada
A cost-benefit analysis of Manitoba's integrated Dutch elm disease management programme, between 1975-90, has been carried out in Canada. Since 1981 Manitoban authorities spent an average of 1.5 million CAD per year to keep the disease incidence under 2.5%. An increase of the annual loss rate by a few percentage points would translate directly into costs of 22.3 million CAD for elm removal, 21 million CAD for replacement trees, a decline in real estate value and a near complete loss of the urban forests in many towns and cities. The province of Manitoba has realized a minimum of savings of 5.01 million CAD since 1981 by managing Dutch elm disease. Implementation of buffer zones around selected communities has significantly reduced urban elm losses.
Sources
Westwood, A.R. (1991) A cost-benefit analysis of Manitoba's integrated Dutch elm disease management program 1975-1990.
Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Manitoba No. 47, 44-59.