Title of Term Paper:

“The bio-security threat due to international trade of plants, wood and plants parts”

TABLE OF CONTENT

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………3

Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………4

Discussions and Literature reviews……………………………………………………………………………..1.0

International Plant Biosecurity and the Organizations involved………………………………………1.1

International trade of wood and plants products…………………………………………….1.1.1

Modern plant trade as a regulator of threat enhancement…………………………………….2.0

Pests associated with wood, plants and plants parts…………………………………………..2.1

Forest pests introduced through International trading……………………………………….2.1.1

Impact due to international trade of woody parts and plant parts…………………………….3.0

Risk analysis…………………………………………………………………………………..3.1

Measures to minimize the risk of introduction ………………………………………………3.1.1

Discussions and Conclusions………………………………………………………………….4.0

References

Abstract

International trade in wood, plants parts, and live plants for planting has been known worldwide as one of the major pathways for the introduction and spread of non-native or foreign pests and plant pathogens.  Non-native species in new areas can become invasive species. These organisms upon arrival in their new environment may cause devasting ecosystem and economic damage to both host plants, human and even alternative host plants as well.  This can also limit access to international exports markets. Despite, all the regulations at the borders by the various government agencies, the introduction of foreign pests to new areas is still inevitable. Introduction of pest and pathogen to countries such as the United State of American, Europe, Canada and South African have been documented over the years. Trading among diverse countries’ thus importing and exporting of plants products, has led to the increases in widespread of plants diseases in recent times, despite its obvious economic advantage. The potential for damage in the future might be large if tight measures are not put in place to address international trade market and biosecurity threat to plant health. Therefore, this paper provides a review of how wood and plant parts commodities has attributed to biosecurity threat through international trade, the major entry pathways and measures to minimize the risk associated with international trading in wood and plant parts commodities.

Introduction

The term biosecurity broadly encompasses the efforts to avoid damage from both deliberate and accidental movement of organisms to human well-being and the environment, as well as to the agricultural crop and livestock industries. Plant biosecurity is a technique and integrated approach designed towards the management of potential risks in the areas of food safety, and plant life and health, including associated environmental risk (Meyerson and Reaser 2002a).  It also consists of activities such as quarantine measures, before and after border inspections, off-shore mitigation, domestic surveys and eradication and control programs (Magarey et al.,2009). Conventionally, biosecurity programmes concerning plant health have focussed on pests of the agriculture and forestry sectors.  However, in recent years numerous efforts have broadened and ensured that scope of plant health biosecurity policy to also tackle plants as a pest, or invasive plants, and spreading protection to non-agricultural or unmanaged systems.

         Pest and pathogens may adhere to invasive plants surface of wood and plants parts, which pose a threat to croplands, rangelands, and natural areas.  Invasive species are referred to as exotic species with maximum potential proliferation rate and dispersal that becomes predominates components of ecological communities (Colautti and  MacIsaac, 2004). They cause degradation of the productivity and biological variability of all ecosystems, have harmful economic and social impact and affect international trade. Their impact and influence have increased rapidly over the past years because of increased exports and imports into new international markets, the increased frequency and speed at which commodities and people travel the world, increased numbers of ports of entry, increased interest in the use of new exotic plants for gardening and landscaping (Mullin et al., 2000).  This elevated level of damage by invasive plants has challenged plant health biosecurity organizations, to come up with new programmes and measures to protect the economy, environment, and human health (Hewitt et al., 2009).

          Comprehensive studies have already confirmed that movement of wood including solid-wood packaging and the ornamental plant trade as the two main pest pathways. There is a positive correlation between the pest introduced via this route and the volume of the source of imports. Hence, there is the need to develop measures in the regulation of the movement of wood and plants parts that lead to a reduction in pest entry via this  pathways, most especially on international trade markets. This paper examines biosecurity threat from international trade of plants, wood and plants parts, the main source of entry and measures to reduce the risk.

1. Discussions and Literature reviews

1.1 International Plant Biosecurity and organizations involved

International trade due to rapid globalization of the world economy suggests that trade policies and agreements need to be well considered by countries participating in the trade. Relative to agricultural trade, several international agreements, and standards to which many countries of the world are parties has been established. Those specifically associated with plants and plant products, are the WTO-SPS Agreement, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs).

The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established in 1995; with its key responsibility of trade liberation by limiting tariff and non-tariff barriers (Brunel et al., 2009).  It a body that sets and oversees the global rules of trade between nations. However, trade liberalization rather turns to increase the biosecurity risk. The WTO administers a set of agreements that are negotiated, signed and approved by governments of member countries. These agreements are legal rules that have implications for plant health biosecurity (WTO, 1995, 2011).   These agreements include the WTO’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) permits countries to take procedures to protect human, animal or plant life, and this may include measures to avoid the introductions of invasive pests. The WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) deliberates on how these measures may be put to effective use. The SPS Agreement allows counties to set their own plant health standards, however, it requires that these must be based on a systematically reasonable and suitable risk assessment (Roberts and Roberts, 1998; Shine, 2007).

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was replaced by the SPS Agreement (Gruszczynski, 2006). The SPS Agreement sets rules for the growth of international standards and guiding principle and it recognizes the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) as the only suitable international standard-setting organization regarding plant health biosecurity (Gruszczynski, 2006). The main aim of SPS Agreement ensures that worldwide commercial trade in plant products is not obstructed by artificial barriers and is based on international standards (C. M. Brasier, 2008).  While WTO member countries have the sovereign right to protect their territory from potential threats of pest introduction, their measures must be based on the general principles of the WTO SPS Agreement. Under the WTO-SPS Agreement, 14 Articles or principles guide the application of SPS measures (WTO, 1995).

1.1.1 International trade of wood and plants products

Several forest products make up this trade.  Wood Global trade in wood products and plants parts for planting conveys the threat of introducing foreign tree pests and diseases (Liebhold et al., 2012), which can cause devastating ecosystem and economic damage. Even though international phytosanitary guidelines exist to help countries that import wood products, develop import standard to reduce pest movement.  The movement of these pests is still unavoidable.  A report from (FAO 2016), indicated that there has been a massive increase in the international trade in wood products currently than the past 50 years, from about 5 billion $US in 1961 to 248 billion $US in 2014 (Fig 1.). This contributed to about 1.7 trillion $US in 2014, as the total international exports of agricultural produce (FAO 2016).

       Wood commodities in the global markets include log and round wood.  Round wood comprises the largest percentage of international wood trade, which includes both industrial roundwood and fuelwood. Others include sawn wood and wood chips. All the wood prod