Forestry Commission - Planting and Managing Woods

In Plant Health Newsletter No.24 (September 2008) we provided information about the spread of Pine Wood Nematode in Portugal and the new requirements for coniferous wood and wood products being exported from Portugal. These have recently been amended by Commission Decision 2008/954/EC dated 15 December 2008 (OJ L. 338 p.64 17.12.08). The new requirements are summarised below. All of the other guidance provided in Newsletter No. 24 regarding the notification of imports to the Plant Health Service and the action which might be taken in the case of non-compliance remain unchanged. Any enquiries relating to these new requirements should be directed to the Forestry Commission's Plant Health Service Tel 0131-314-6414.

New Requirements for coniferous wood and wood products being exported from Portugal (Updated 17 December 2008)

From 17 December, the export of all coniferous wood and bark out of continental Portugal has been prohibited unless it has been heat treated* and is accompanied by a plant passport or, in the case of all (new, old, previously imported, or repaired) wood packaging material, whether or not in use, has been treated and marked in accordance with ISPM 15 “Guidelines for regulating wood packaging material in international trade”.

Coniferous wood in the form of chips, particles, wood waste or scrap obtained in whole or part from these conifers must be fumigated with methyl bromide* .

The European Commission will maintain a list of those processing plants that are authorised by the Plant Health Authority in Portugal to treat susceptible wood and issue plant passports or apply ISPM 15 marks to wood packaging material.

*Currently, there are no facilities in Portugal authorised to fumigate with methyl bromide.

Wood packaging material

Commission Directive 2008/109/EC amending Annex IV to Council Directive 2000/29/EC (the EU Plant Health Directive) was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 29 November 2008.

The Directive, which comes into force on 1 January 2009, replaces the current points 2 and 8 in Annex IV, Part A, Section I of the Plant Health Directive. These new points will require that in addition to either being heat treated or fumigated and marked with the ISPM 15 mark, wood packaging material, including dunnage, entering the EU from all countries with the exception of Switzerland will, from 1 July 2009, need also to be free from bark, with the exception of any number of individual pieces of bark if they are either less than 3 cm in width (regardless of the length) or, if greater than 3 cm in width, not more than 50 square centimetres in size (approximately the size of a credit card).

This means that the requirement that wood packaging material including dunnage must be debarked, which would otherwise have come into force on 1 January 2009 (Commission Directive 2006/14/EC) has been superseded and no longer applies.

An amendment to the Plant Health (Forestry) Order 2005 is in preparation. (updated 1 December 2008)

Introduction of emergency measures against Anoplophora chinensis (citrus longhorn beetle)

The citrus longhorn beetle is a damaging quarantine pest of a range of trees and shrubs. The common name is a bit misleading because this pest can be found on many different species of trees, and outbreaks in northern Italy, and of the related Anoplophora glabripennis in the USA, have shown the potential of these pests to move with international trade and cause damage. The natural range of the beetle includes China, Japan and other countries in South East Asia. They are a threat to horticulture, forestry and woodland trees in the UK and also to citrus production in the Mediterranean.

In response to the recent findings in the UK and elsewhere (particularly Netherlands and Germany) emergency measures have recently been agreed by the European Commission’s Standing Committee on Plant Health. The measures include restrictions on the import of a wide range of plants from countries where the beetle is known to be present, which requires plants to have been grown in a pest free area or a pest free production site, and monitored for at least two years. The measures are planned to come into effect at the beginning of November when they are published in the Official Journal of the EU and amendments to our domestic Plant Health legislation will come into force at about the same time .

Unless China and the other countries where citrus longhorn beetle is known to be present already have areas or places of production which have been monitored and found free for the last two years, this amounts to a de facto ban while they set up the necessary arrangements to ensure that consignments can be sent without the pest in future.

The relevant plant health authorities in exporting countries have been informed that consignments arriving in the UK after the measures come into force will have to have the necessary additional declaration on the phytosanitary certificate, and will be subject to inspection at import, including some destructive sampling (this pest can be very difficult to detect without actually cutting the plants open). Any consignments arriving prior to the new legislation being in force will be subject to intensive inspection, including destructive sampling, and destruction or rejection if there is any evidence of infestation. Some other Member States (particularly The Netherlands ) are also taking the same approach, to ensure there is no delay in implementation of the EU requirements. (updated 22 October 2008)

PLANT HEALTH AND FORESTRY

Nearly 90% of Britain's timber requirement is imported, mainly from Scandinavia, the Baltic States, Canada and Russia. In addition, a vast range of other commodities are imported into the country every day and nearly all of these have wooden packaging material of one form or other associated with them. While some goods are carried on high quality pallets, much of this packaging and the loose wood used to wedge cargoes (or dunnage as it is known), is made up of low quality wood which can often present a high plant health risk.

The importation not only of timber, but also of other goods presents a risk to British forests and woodlands because imported wood may carry tree pests which are not currently present in GB, but which could easily establish populations in our growing forests. These pests have the potential of killing large areas of forest or seriously damaging other woodland and amenity trees. Dutch elm disease is a reminder of how such an introduction can dramatically alter our landscape. Asian Longhorn Beetle is causing significant damage to New York's and Chicago's trees. More recently this pest, a native of China, has been found in Austria, France and Germany. In all cases, wooden packaging is believed to have been the pathway.

The aim of the Plant Health Service is to protect the forests and the timber industry of Great Britain and the rest of the EU. To do this, we draw up and apply rules on both the import and export of forestry material (trees, timber and timber products) and the movement of this material within the EU. The rules which we make are usually based on EC law. The Plant Health (Forestry) Order 2005 is the statutory instrument which sets out import controls. See information on all current forestry Plant Health legislation. Statutory Instruments can be viewed on the TSO website by clicking on the link to the right.

In order to prevent the introduction of new plant pests into this country and to control the spread of pests which already exist here, we:

The Plant Health Service is at the Forestry Commission's office in Edinburgh, where the Head of Plant Health and Operations Manager are based. There are two regional officers who support Plant Health Inspectors over the whole of Great Britain. Their regions are North, (Scotland, North England as far south as the counties of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, North Yorkshire excluding Humber ports and North Wales) and South (all counties of England south of those mentioned and South Wales) . We keep our clients informed of the rules and other significant items of interest by publishing regular Plant Health Newsletters. We aim to publish these at six-monthly intervals. We also publish a range of advisory leaflets and posters, which can be ordered, usually free of charge, from the Plant Health Service at the Forestry Commission Edinburgh Office.

Plant health