Yet as a case study, it makes a strong case why an aggressive, well-funded public response to bioinvasion is well worth the expense and effort. We spend several million dollars a year sterilizing, catching, poisoning, putting up barriers to suppress the sea lamprey. Well, it's still there. And it may never go away. Your stock portfolio should perform as well.
Global cooperation is an imperative.
Our joint efforts with Canada on the Great Lakes provides and example. The Convention on Biological Diversity is the place to begin, and indeed preliminary discussions pursuant to section 8 of the Biological Diversity Treaty are underway. Those discussions underline the need for Senate ratification of the Biodiversity Treaty. The World Trade Organization must also take an active role in the movement to develop and harmonize regulations in this area. Let me conclude on a cautious note of hope.