2

BIOSECURITY AND FORESTS: AN INTRODUCTION

by
M.
J.W .Cock1 ,M.KenisandR.W i
ttenberg

INTRODUCTION
‘Biosecurity’in foodandagri culturedescribestheconcept,obj ecti
veandprocessofmanagi ngbi ol
ogical
risksassoci atedwi thfoodandagri cul
ture(initsbroadestsense,i.
e.includingforestry).Biosecurity i
semergi ngas
oneofthemosti mportanti ssuesfacing theinternati
onalcommuni ty.Therei sagrowi ngtrend by countri esto
establish nationalbi osecurity systems,eitherto meetobl i
gati
onsunderi nternati
onalagreements(forexampl e,in
theenvi ronmentalsector)orto takeadvantageofopportuni ties(forexampl e,in thetradesector).Such systems
aretradi ti
onal l
y based on sectoralareas,al though anumberofcountri eshavestarted to establ
ish cross-sectoral
,
integratedframeworks.

In the forestry sector,biosecurity encompasses three mai n fiel

ds of acti
vity:forestprotecti
on and
phytosanitary i
ssues;naturalizati
on ofi ntroduced forestry treesand theirimpacton ecosystemsori ndivi
dual
speci
es;andtherel easeofnew genotypes,i ncludi
nggeneti callyimprovedtreevari
eties.

A gl oballiterature review,compl
emented by i n-depth regi
onaland nationalanalyses,showsthatthe
forestry sectori snotal waysawareofthei ssue.Therei saneed to raiseawarenessoftheactorsi nvolved,and to
strengthen abi osecurity perspecti
vewhen i
ntroducing,testi
ngand managi ngexoticforestresources.Thispaper
presentsasummary ofthemai n fi
ndi
ngsand recommendati onsofthegl obalreview undertaken by theauthors
forFAO.

PH YTOSANITARY ISSUES
‘Pests’are defi
ned by FAO as any speci es,strain or biotype of plant,ani malor pathogenic agent
inj
uriousto plantsorpl antproducts,i.e.insects,mites,mol luscs,nematodes,di seasesand weeds.Indi genous
pests may be chronic or occur in outbreaks,whereas i ntroduced pests usuall
y occur in an i ni
ti
aloutbreak
fol
lowed by continuouschroni c damage.Both typesofpestcan cause severe l ossesin forestry,maki
ng them
importantfactorstotakeintoaccount.

Tropicaland subtropi calpl antation forestry has often focused on a smal lnumber of fast-growi ng,
pioneer species,normal ly planted as pure stands.Monocul tures,especi ally of genetical
ly si
mi l
ar trees,are
associ
ated with an i
ncreased probabi l
ity ofpestoutbreaksand can al so transform sporadi cpestsinto permanent
problems.Mi xedpl antingofnati ve(andexoti c)treesisthereforei ncreasingly preferredasastrategy foravoi di
ng
pestprobl ems.Pestri sksassoci ated wi th a parti
culartree/l
ocation combi nati on should be evaluated priorto
planti
ngandtheresul tsconfirmedwi thtestpl ots.

There isa growi ng trend towardsadopti ng more sustainable managementstrategi esforforestpests,

particul
arl
yi n devel oped countries.These changesare related to changesin the perception ofthe role ofthe
forest,whichisi ncreasingly val
uednotj ustforeconomicreasons,butal sofori tsecologicalandsocialfuncti
ons.
Large monocul tures are disappearing from many European and North Ameri can landscapes and are being
replacedby smal ler,mixedstands,whi chreducepestri sksasmenti onedabove.

Analysingandeval uati
ngpestriskrequi resrel
iabl
ei nformation.Asmi ghtbeexpected,morei nformation
isavai
labl
eon pestsoftreesgrown i n developed ratherthan in devel opingcountries,and al
so forpestsoftrees
grown in pl
antati
onsratherthan forpestsi n naturalforests.Virtuall
y nothingisknown ofthepestsassoci ated
withthosetreesharvestedfrom naturalforestsandnotgrowni npl antati
ons,atleastinthetropics.

1 CABIBi
osci
enceSwi
tzerl
andCentre,1 RuedesGri
ll
ons,CH-2800Del
émont,Swi
tzerl
and

Forest Genetic Resources No. 31. FAO, Rome, Italy (2004)

 3

At operational level, in a majority of countries, quarantine and pest management services are generally
under ministries in charge of agriculture, and their overall knowledge on pests specific to the forestry sector is
often limited.

ALIEN INVASIVE SPECIES

Alien species can be particularly damaging during plantation establishment, but can also have important
impacts on natural forest biological diversity, especially in the tropics. An increasing number of accidental
introductions can be expected as a result of the growing internationalization of trade, the increased movement of
people and the resultant overstretching of quarantine services.

Little attention has been given so far to the phenomenon of invasiveness by woody forest species at
global level. Just like other living organisms, some forest and agroforestry trees have the potential to become
invasive when grown as exotics, particularly in the tropics, but it is difficult to predict which alien species are
likely to cause serious damage if introduced. Species that are innocuous or minor pests in their area of origin can
be devastating when introduced elsewhere. At present, the best guide to potential invasiveness is those species
that have already caused problems when introduced into another part of the world. Thus, access to reliable
information is critically important for assessing this risk. Studies are needed to determine why introduced trees
become naturalized or invasive, and protocols for assessing the risks of introductions must be developed and
validated. Pilot planting schemes should include monitoring for any indications of invasiveness. Safer options for
introductions (e.g. sterile trees) may also be useful.

The longer an alien species remains undetected after its introduction, the less chance there is for
successful intervention: there are fewer options for its eradication, containment or control, and the costs of
intervention rise. Often the key to a successful and cost-effective solution is eradication, but this requires both
early detection and a rapid response. Once eradication is no longer feasible, the options for control of an alien
species include biological control by the introduction of exotic natural enemies from the pest’s area of origin.
However, this approach should always be based on an appropriate risk assessment and risk–benefit analysis,
following international protocols.

Invasive tree species tend to be multisectoral in their impact, and thus need to be addressed with a
multisectoral approach. In some cases invasive trees provide useful products or services and, when eradication is
not possible, management options should be identified in order to balance the positive and negative aspects. A
paper by Haysom and Murphy in this issue of Forest Genetic Resources highlights the global issues associated with
exotic invasive forest trees.

NEW GENOTYPES
The introduction of new tree genotypes could potentially have adverse impacts, e.g. through the
displacement of indigenous taxa or genotypes, or the transfer of genes to local tree populations with the possible
development of novel ecological characteristics. However, as yet, there are few documented records of such
impacts in the forestry sector. Introductions of other species associated with forestry, including biological control
organisms, pollinators, mycorrhizae, etc., should be considered with caution and on a case-by-case basis.

The development of genetic modification has created new challenges in risk assessment. Although the
first generation of GM products was not particularly relevant to forestry, there are numerous ways in which the
technology could be used in forestry, and research in the field is extremely active. There seems to be considerable
potential for improving forest trees by developing new genotypes with useful biological traits. However,
assessing risks in long-term crops such as forest trees is difficult, and uptake of GM technology is likely to be
slow unless national and international protocols that reliably assess the risks are developed, tested, and agreed
upon.

Forest Genetic Resources No. 31. FAO, Rome, Italy (2004)

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MANAGING BIOSECURITY ISSUES

Forestry activities can contribute to the introduction of alien species in several ways, including the
movement of forest reproductive materials and germplasm, solid wood packaging materials, trade in unprocessed
timber, and contaminants of forest produce. The forestry sector needs to work with other relevant sectors to
prioritize the risks associated with these various activities and to find ways of addressing them.

In establishing the objectives of a biosecurity programme, it is critically important to consider the full
range of stakeholders and their various interests in order to identify areas where cooperation is necessary and
where synergies and efficiencies may be sought. In doing so, the whole regulatory cycle and the full range of
players must be considered. Several groups may need to contribute to the definition of objectives and to the
assessment of risks. Raising awareness, training and capacity building should therefore be important components
of any biosecurity programme.

CONCLUSION
While several international and national programmes target the issue of alien invasive species, especially
in forest and fragile ecosystems, there are relatively few data on the phenomenon of introduced forest trees
turned naturalized or invasive. The issue is all the more important since the global movement of forest
reproductive material, either through intentional or unintentional ways, is likely to increase in the future. The
following paper by Haysom and Murphy is the first global attempt to fill the information gap.

Managing potential pathways for the introduction of alien species is often more efficient than trying to
prevent the introduction of individual species.

There is an urgent need for more research on tropical forestry pests, both to develop management
methods and for developing pest risk assessments.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank all persons who helped to prepare some of the case studies included in the full report
(Cock, 2003). The study was carried out in March 2003 and was financially supported by the FAO-Netherlands
Partnership Programme on Agro-Biodiversity.

LITERATURE

Cock,M.J.W. 2003. Biosecurity andForest:an Introduction, with particular emphasis on f

orest pests. Forest Health and
Biosecurity Working Paper FBS/2E. Forestry Department. FAO, Rome. (E)
http://www.fao.org/forestry/site/16447/en
FAO. 2003. Biological Risk Management in Food and Agriculture:Scope and Relevance. Technical Consultation on
Biological Risk Management in Food and Agriculture. Bangkok, Thailand, 13-17 January 2003.
ftp://ftp.fao.org/es/esn/food/tc_bangkok/tc_brm_03_2en.doc
Haysom,K.A. and Murphy,S.T. 2003. The status ofinvasiveness off orest tree species outside their natural habitat:a global
review anddiscussion paper . Forest Health and Biosecurity Working Paper FBS/3E. Forestry Department.
FAO, Rome. (E). http://www.fao.org/forestry/site/16447/en

Forest Genetic Resources No. 31. FAO, Rome, Italy (2004)