IUFRO Spotlight #3

End Trade in Detrimental Ornamentals to Save Forests

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By Eckehard Brockerhoff, Deputy Coordinator of IUFRO Division 7
(SCION, New Zealand)


In a provocative attempt to save the world’s forests, a group of 70-plus scientists from 17 countries are asking trade policy makers around the globe to phase out such international trade in high-risk plants that put forest health at high risk while offering limited economic benefit.

If the scientists' proposal is implemented, it would mean an end to all international trade in containerized ornamental plant seedlings and trees intended as plants for instant landscape planting.

This particular trade segment, the scientists say, is of little benefit in terms of countries' overall economies but provides easy pathways for dispersal of tree pests and diseases. The scientists also suggest that international trade in other plant materials such as wood packaging and wood chips should be more strictly regulated and scrutinized.

A driving force behind the proposal is an unprecedented rise in the number of alien diseases and pests emerging in natural and planted forests worldwide.

In a supplement to their declaration they have included many examples of pests and diseases introduced through international trade that have caused, or are causing, immense economic and environmental damage in countries where they have been newly introduced.


Among the examples are: the pinewood nematode in Europe and North America; the emerald ash borer in North America and Russia; and the Sycamore-killing Ceratocystis plantani fungus in Mediterranean countries.

While the proposal by the scientists may seem a Draconian solution, and one that flies in the face of prevailing ideas of global free trade, there is unanimity among the community of forest pathologists about the devastating consequences of international and long-distance trade in live plants and some other plant materials.

These concerned scientists point out that current protocols used to regulate pest and disease dispersal have been largely ineffective and the only efficient way to reduce these risks is to reduce, and eventually end, this particular trade.

The forest scientists developed their proposal following a IUFRO meeting in Spain earlier this year. It is articulated in a document they entitled the Montesclaros Declaration.

The complete Montesclaros Declaration can be found at: http://www.iufro.org/science/divisions/division-7/70000/publications/montesclaros-declaration/.

Individuals who wish to express their endorsement can send an email to noliveplants(at)gmail.com with contact information (address, etc).


ABOUT IUFRO SPOTLIGHTS


IUFRO Spotlight is an initiative of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations. Its aim is to introduce, in a timely fashion, significant findings in forest research from IUFRO member organizations and/or involving IUFRO officeholders to a worldwide network of decision makers, policy makers and researchers.

IUFRO will encapsulate, and distribute in plain language, brief, topical and policy-relevant highlights of those findings, along with information on where/how to access the full documents. The IUFRO Spotlight findings will be distributed in a periodic series of emails as well as blog postings.

The findings reported here are submitted by IUFRO Member Organizations. IUFRO is pleased to highlight and circulate these findings to a broad audience but, in doing so, acts only as a conduit. The quality and accuracy of the reports are the responsibility of the member organization and the authors.

Suggestions for reports and findings that could be promoted through IUFRO Spotlight are encouraged. Please send them to: wolfrum(at)iufro.org. To be considered, reports should be fresh, have policy implications and be applicable to more than one country.


MEDIA CONTACT


Eckehard Brockerhoff: +64-3-364 2949 or eckehard.brockerhoff(at)forestresearch.co.nz
Gerda Wolfrum: +43 1 877 0151 17 or wolfrum(at)iufro.org


RELATED LINKS


The Montesclaros Declaration: http://www.iufro.org/science/divisions/division-7/70000/publications/montesclaros-declaration/

IUFRO Working Party 7.02.02 – Foliage, shoot and stem diseases
: http://www.iufro.org/science/divisions/division-7/70000/70200/70202/

IUFRO Division 7 – Forest Health: http://www.iufro.org/science/divisions/division-7/70000/

Endorsement of Montesclaros Declaration: noliveplants(at)gmail.com


MATERIALS

Photo Credits

Photo 1: Mycosphaerella dearnessii on Pinus uncinata: Solitary tree with severe infestation in the lower part of the crown in Lower Austria, June 2010. Photo by Marion Kessler
Photo 2: Platanus X acerifolia (London plane) killed by Ceratocystis platani. Photo by Paolo Capretti

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The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) is the only worldwide organization devoted to forest research and related sciences. Its members are research institutions, universities, and individual scientists as well as decision-making authorities and other stakeholders with a focus on forests and trees.
Visit: http://www.iufro.org/

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View all IUFRO Spotlights at http://www.iufro.org/media/iufro-spotlights/ 

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IUFRO Spotlight #3, published in December 2011
by IUFRO Headquarters, Vienna, Austria.
Available for download at:
http://www.iufro.org/media/iufro-spotlights/
Contact the editor at office(at)iufro.org or visit http://www.iufro.org/

Imprint: http://www.iufro.org/legal/#c18944