Despite the efforts of more than 20 state, federal, and private agencies, unwanted alien pests are entering Hawai'i at an alarming rate - about 2 million times more rapid than the natural rate. In 1993, the federal Office of Technology Assessment declared Hawaii's alien pest species problem the worst in the nation. Hawaii's evolutionary isolation from the continents, and its modern role as the commercial hub of the Pacific make these islands particularly vulnerable to destruction by alien pests. Gaps in current pest prevention systems and a lack of public awareness add further to this serious problem.
(Text courtesy of CGAPS.)
To learn more about the problem of invasive alien species in Hawaii, refer to The Silent Invasion. For an excellent introduction to the problem of invasive plants in Hawaii (including specific information about how horticultural plants can be extremely problematic), see Hawaii's Most Invasive Horticultural Plants.