1 Feb 2010
Mountain pine beetle has killed more than one billion trees in British Columbia (photo) and once thriving forestry cities may well become ghost towns. Korea has banned log imports from Chile because of the perceived threat of a newly discovered Phytopthora that causes disease in radiata pine.
Protecting New Zealand from biosecurity threats such as these is the focus of an FOA/MAF Forest workshop being held in Rotorua from 23-24 February.
Biosecurity consultant and conference organizer Bill Dyck says Scion researchers have calculated that the potential impact of a major Asian log trade ban, triggered by a biosecurity threat, would lead to a loss in the present value of NZ growers’ revenues of $11 billion.
“Clearly, the potential financial risk of a biosecurity breach is very significant. While such a breach may seem as inevitable as the outcomes of playing with a loaded gun, there are many ways to reduce the risk and to mitigate the impacts,” he says.
“Unlike Australia, New Zealand does not have a forest industry biosecurity plan and has been criticised for not being well enough prepared for the eventuality of a major biosecurity breach, either as it would impact our forests or impact our trade. This workshop will focus on addressing this issue, developing a more formal partnership between MAF and industry, and initiate the development of a New Zealand forest industry biosecurity plan.”
For more Information, contact FOA forest health administrator Bill Dyck This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Paul Stevens, MAF Biosecurity This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.