Advice to the Decision Making Committee 2
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EPA advice on application APP202039 – determination on the new organism status of Agathis silbae, Agathis dammara, Agathis borneensis, Agathis kinabaluensis and Agathis atropurpurea February 2014 ADVICE TO THE DECISION MAKING COMMITTEE 2 EPA advice for application APP202039 Executive summary and recommendation Application APP202039, submitted by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), seeks a determination on the new organism status of five Agathis species (Agathis silbae, Agathis dammara, Agathis borneensis, Agathis kinabaluensis and Agathis atropurpurea). After reviewing the information, we recommend that the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Decision Making Committee determines that Agathis silbae, Agathis dammara, Agathis borneensis, Agathis kinabaluensis and Agathis atropurpurea are new organisms for the purposes of the HSNO Act. However, should new evidence be found regarding the new organism status of any of these organisms, new determinations can be sought. February 2014 3 EPA advice for application APP202039 Table of Contents Executive summary and recommendation ............................................................................................ 2 Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................. 3 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 4 2. Organism description................................................................................................................... 4 3. Summary and review of information ............................................................................................ 5 4. Evaluation against statutory criteria ............................................................................................ 7 5. Impact on international obligations .............................................................................................. 9 6. References .................................................................................................................................. 9 Appendix A .......................................................................................................................................... 11 February 2014 4 EPA advice for application APP202039 1. Introduction 1.1. The application from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) (the applicant) was submitted under section 26 of the HSNO Act (the Act) to determine whether five species of Agathis (Agathis silbae, Agathis dammara, Agathis borneensis, Agathis kinabaluensis and Agathis atropurpurea) are new organisms for the purposes of the Act. 1.2. The applicant provided information in regards to the presence of the five Agathis species in New Zealand. We have evaluated this and other readily sourced information against the legislative criteria for determining whether the five Agathis species are new organisms. 2. Organism description 2.1. The genus Agathis includes the New Zealand Kauri Agathis australis. Members of this genus are evergreen conifers predominantly found in tropical and sub-tropical rainforests found in Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, the Phillipines, Melanesia, Australia and New Zealand (Waters 2005; Earle 2011). 2.2. The five Agathis species that are the subject of this determination are summarised in Table 1. Table 1: Species that are the subject of this determination1 Species Common name Native to: Agathis silbae de Laub. Santo Kauri Vanuatu (Espiritu Santo) Agathis dammara (Lamb.) Rich. & A. Borneo kauri Philippines, Indonesia Rich. Sumatra, Borneo and the Agathis borneensis Warb. Dammar minyak Malay peninsula Agathis kinabaluensis de Laub. Kinabalu kauri Malaysia Agathis atropurpurea B. Hyland Blue kauri Australia 1 Additional information sourced from Earle (2011) and Roskov et al (2014). February 2014 5 EPA advice for application APP202039 3. Summary and review of information Agathis silbae Identification of Agathis silbae 3.1. The applicant noted that there has been speculation about whether Agathis silbae is a synonym for Agathis macrophylla (Pacific kauri) which is a species listed on the Plant Biosecurity Index (PBI) - a MPI database of organisms allowed to be imported into New Zealand. However, the applicant notes that certain scientific authorities recognise Agathis silbae as a species in its own right and that the applicant considers it is a separate species. 3.2. A review of the current scientific opinion regarding this issue is as follows. 3.3. ‘An Atlas of the World’s Conifers: an analysis of their distribution, biogeography, diversity and conservation status’ is a 2013 reference book written by Aljos Farjon (Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and long-time Chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Conifer Specialist Group) and Denis Filer (Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford). In this book it is stated that Agathis silbae “is a relatively unknown but distinct species (the distinction, as with most species of this difficult genus, is in the morphology of the pollen cones) occurring on Espiritu Santo, the largest island of Vanuatu.” 3.4. ‘Traditional Trees of Pacific Islands: Their Culture, Environment, and Use’ is a 2006 reference book describing 80 important Pacific Island trees. In a section on Agathus macrophylla written by Dr Lex A. J. Thomson (South Pacific Regional Initiative of Forest Genetic Resources (SPRIG) Project, SPC Forestry Program, Suva, Fiji), it is acknowledged that Agathis silbae is a similar species to Agathis macrophylla but Agathis silbae is not listed as synonym for Agathis macrophylla (Agathis obtusa and Agathis vitiensis are listed). 3.5. In the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, it is stated that Agathis silbae has previously been misidentified as Agathis macrophylla (Thomas, 2013). 3.6. Agathis silbae is also listed as a separate species in a number of internationally recognised databases including; The Conifer Database - a taxonomic and specimen database of all 619 species of conifers in the world based on herbarium specimens from many herbaria (Farjon, 2013); The International Plant Names Index - a database of the names and associated basic bibliographical details of seed plants, ferns and lycophytes that is the product of a February 2014 6 EPA advice for application APP202039 collaboration between The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, The Harvard University Herbaria, and the Australian National Herbarium (The International Plant Names Index, 2012); The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families - a Kew Royal Botanic Gardens database (WCSP 2014); and The Missouri Botanic Garden database (Tropicos.org, 2014). 3.7. Therefore we consider that based on the currently available evidence, Agathis silbae is a distinct species and it is not a synonym of Agathis macrophylla. We evaluated the evidence regarding Agathis silbae for this determination. Evidence 3.8. To summarise the evidence provided by the applicant; Agathis silbae is not listed on the PBI; Agathis silbae is not listed on the Landcare Research New Zealand Flora database; Agathis silbae has been found in private gardens and the Auckland Botanical Gardens; however, the applicant considers these organisms arrived in New Zealand after 29 July 1998; There are records in Scion’s tissue culture collection of an Agathis silbae culture from a sample supplied in 2006; and As Agathis silbae was listed in an unsuccessful release application submitted in 2001 (application number NOR00002, ERMA New Zealand, 2001), the applicant considers this means the expert applicants of application NOR00002 considered this species to be absent from New Zealand (and thus required a release approval). Agathis dammara, Agathis borneensis and Agathis kinabaluensis Evidence 3.9. To summarise the evidence provided by the applicant; Agathis dammara, Agathis borneensis and Agathis kinabaluensis are not listed on the PBI; Agathis dammara, Agathis borneensis and Agathis kinabaluensis are not listed on the Landcare Research New Zealand Flora database; There is anecdotal evidence that Agathis seeds from Malaysia were imported prior to July 29 1998. However, the applicant considers that it is not clear which species were imported; Plants purported to be Agathis dammara, Agathis borneensis and Agathis kinabaluensis are growing in private gardens and the Auckland Botanical Gardens. However, the applicant considers the origins of these plants and when they entered New Zealand is unclear, as is the formal identification of these organisms; and There are herbaria records of Agathis dammara, Agathis borneensis and Agathis kinabaluensis from specimens submitted in 2006 and 2007. However the provenance of these specimens and whether formal species identification has been undertaken is unclear. February 2014 7 EPA advice for application APP202039 Agathis atropurpurea Evidence 3.10. To summarise the evidence provided by the applicant; Agathis atropurpurea is not listed on the PBI; Agathis atropurpurea is not listed on the Landcare Research New Zealand Flora database; and There is anecdotal evidence of the presence of Agathis atropurpurea in New Zealand including a sample held in Scion’s National Forestry Herbarium collected in 2008. However, the applicant considers it is not clear if these trees entered New Zealand prior to July 29 1998 or if they were imported legally. The applicant also considers it is not clear whether these plants