Non-regulatory approaches

Non-governmental approaches to controlling invasive horticultural plants work best coupled with regulatory approaches and are generally meant to work together. Strategies for non-regulatory control center their efforts mostly on education and voluntary compliance programs. Education programs include media coverage, labeling, workshops, production of pamphlets and books, and informal conversations. Voluntary programs involve industry cooperation to remove invasive plants from their stock and voluntary removal programs in invaded areas. As discussed in the Policies section, the non-profit Exotic Pest Plant Councils are a non-governmental way that interested parties meet to work on the issue, but their general intention is influencing governmental policy, so they will not be discussed any further in this section.

One argument in favor of voluntary industry control of the issue is that it anticipates regulations and makes transitions easier to take once more strict regulations are in place (Sarah Reichard, personal communication). According to the Office of Technology Assessment (1993), "Industry groups often support such [voluntary] initiatives, claiming that voluntary programs are more effective and cut costs. Few environmental groups have endorsed voluntary programs however."

An important purpose of education is greater consumer awareness of the sissue. When consumers are aware of the problem of horticultural invasive plants, they are able to create market and societal pressures that can convince the horticulture industry to stop selling invasive plants (see Reichard and White 2000 for a discussion of customer awareness).

Heightened industry awareness of the issue will also make voluntary restriction programs more widely accepted. Industry professionals range in knowledge from completely unaware of the issue to highly involved, so increased education will help increase the receptiveness to programs. One important area of education is in addressing the nursery industry's concerns for the lack of 'proof' of invasiveness in restricted plants or on invasive plant lists. Nurseries continually complain that there is not enough proof to show that a particular plant is invasive. Conclusive proof itself takes years of testing to come by, but expert opinion and clear, reasoned criteria for calling a plant invasive can be considered proof enough by nurseries. Opening up the decision-making process and educating the industry about it will increase their willingness to comply with plant-restriction activities.