[Front Cover] The unwelcome guests Proceedings of the Asia-Pacific forest invasive species conference Kunming, Yunnan Province, China 17–23 August 2003 The designation and presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers and boundaries. All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for sale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for such permission should be addressed to the Senior Forestry Officer, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Maliwan Mansion, 39 Phra Atit Road, Bangkok 10200, Thailand or by e-mail to [email protected]. Cover photographs: Délégation à la Recherche, Government of French Polynesia Alan Bullard Gary Man Peter Ooi For copies of the report, write to: Patrick B. Durst Senior Forestry Officer FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific 39 Phra Atit Road Bangkok 10200 Thailand Tel: (+66 2) 697 4000 Fax: (+66 2) 697 4445 E-mail: [email protected] Printed and published in Bangkok, Thailand. © FAO 2005 ISBN 974-7946-77-7 RAP PUBLICATION 2005/18 The unwelcome guests Proceedings of the Asia-Pacific Forest Invasive Species Conference Kunming, Yunnan Province, China 17–23 August 2003 Edited by Philip McKenzie, Chris Brown, Sun Jianghua and Wu Jian FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS REGIONAL OFFICE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC Bangkok, 2005 Foreword The damage caused by invasive species imposes enormous costs on the forests of the Asia-Pacific region in terms of ecological destruction, economic losses and detrimental social effects. Overall losses associated with invasive species in many countries are estimated to account for around 1 percent of GDP, with the United States of America, for example, sustaining losses estimated at US$137 billion per year. Forest losses comprise a significant portion of this. Based on a recommendation made at the 19th session of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, the Asia-Pacific Forest Invasive Species Conference was organized and convened in Kunming, China. The importance of invasive species issues was underscored by the large number of participants that attended the conference and the broad international support given to the conference by a number of organizations. More than 136 participants from 20 countries attended the conference, which included field visits to various sites in Yunnan Province, where challenges posed by invasive species are being addressed. One of the most important messages highlighted by the conference is that invasive species are an issue of global concern, which no single country can adequately address alone. The enormous synergies available through international cooperation were clearly understood by participants, who recognized that cooperation is essential in narrowing incursion pathways, as well as in triggering early response measures, and ensuring effective monitoring and control strategies. The benefits of formalizing the information-sharing process among Asia-Pacific countries were underlined by a core recommendation to form an Asia-Pacific Forest Invasive Species Network and an associated Asia-Pacific Forest Invasive Species Working Group. The Asia-Pacific Forest Invasive Species Conference was based on the premise that success in developing and implementing solutions for invasive species can be achieved only by forming strong collaborative partnerships within and among countries. The establishment of a new Asia-Pacific Forest Invasive Species Network is therefore expected to be a major step forward in meeting the challenges posed by invasive species in the region. This publication represents one element of ongoing efforts to promote sustainable forest management in the Asia-Pacific region and is composed of summaries of the technical presentations and the country reports submitted by the participants. It is hoped that this publication will provide valuable assistance to those responsible for formulating and implementing policies related to forest invasive species. He Changchui Kang Le Assistant Director-General and Regional Director-General Representative for Asia and the Pacific Bureau of Life Science and Biotechnology Food and Agriculture Organization of the Chinese Academy of Sciences United Nations Zhu Lieke Valdis Mezainis Deputy Administrator Director of International Programs State Forestry Administration USDA Forest Service of China iii Table of contents Page No. Foreword iii Invasive species: an overview vii Introductory session Opening session 3 Introductory remarks – Patrick B. Durst, Senior Forestry Officer, Food and Agriculture 4 Organization of the United Nations, Bangkok, Thailand Introductory remarks – Jerome S. Beatty, Deputy Director, USDA Forest Service, Forest Health 6 Protection Technical presentations A global perspective on forest invasive species: the problem, causes and consequences – Sally 9 Campbell, Pacific Northwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Portland, Oregon, USA Alien forest pests and management practices in China – Wei Diansheng, Department of 11 Silviculture, State Forest Administration, Beijing, China Pest risk assessments and incursion pathways – Allan T. Bullard, Director, Forest Health 14 Technology Enterprise Team, USDA Forest Service FAO activities related to invasive species in forestry – Simmathiri Appanah, FAO Regional 16 Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand Ecological and economic impacts of invasive species – Chris Baddeley, Team Leader 17 Biosecurity Policy, New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) – Greg Stubbings, National Manager, 18 Forestry Section, Canadian Food Inspection Agency Key elements in developing a forest invasive species biosecurity strategy for Australia – Mike 19 Cole, Office of the Chief Plant Protection Officer (OCCPO), Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) Managing invasive species – the threat to oil-palm and rubber: the Malaysian plant quarantine 32 regulatory perspective – B.O. Asna and H.L. Ho, Crop Protection and Plant Quarantine Division, Department of Agriculture, Malaysia When good trees turn bad: the unintended spread of introduced plantation tree species in India 39 – K.V. Sankaran, S.T. Murphy and M.A. Sreenivasan, Kerala Forest Research Institute, India and CABI Bioscience, UK Centre (Ascot), United Kingdom Acacias – are they a threat as invasive species in the wet tropics? – B. Krishnapillay, H.C. Sim 47 and M.A.A. Razak, Asia-Pacific Association of Forestry Research Institutes Pine wood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) and other forest pathogens in Japan – 50 Shigeru Kaneko, Kansai Research Centre, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Japan Assisted natural regeneration: countering the impact of Imperata grass infestation in the 53 Philippines – Peter Walpole, Director, Institute of Environmental Science for Social Change, Manila, Philippines v Country reports Australia: forest invasive species strategies in Australia – Michael Cole, Office of the Chief 59 Plant Protection Officer (OCCPO), Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) Cambodia: the Mimosa pigra report – Samreth Vanna, Department of Forestry and Wildlife 78 and Ket Nang, Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fishery Forest invasive species: country report: People’s Republic of China – Sun Jianghua, Chinese 80 Academy of Sciences Forest invasive species: country report: Fiji – Inoke Wainqolo, Fijian Forestry Department, 87 and Visone Timote, Fiji Quarantine Inspection Service Forest invasive species: country report: India – Shekhar Kumar Niraj, Ministry of Environment 92 and Forests The invasion of Acacia nilotica in Baluran National Park, East Java, and its control measures 96 – R. Garsetiasih, Researcher of Forest and Nature Conservation Research and Development Centre, Bogor, Indonesia and Hendrik Siubelan, Head of Baluran National Park, East Java, Indonesia Forest invasive species in Lao PDR – Thongphath Leuangkhamma and Vongdeuane 98 Vongsiharath, Department of Forestry Forest invasive species country paper: Nepal – Madhusudan Bista, Ministry of Forests and 100 Soil Conservation, and Mahendra Prasad Chaudhary, Plant Quarantine Service A status report on some invasive forest species in Papua New Guinea – Robert Kiapranis 102 and Patrick Nimiago, PNG Forest Research Institute, Papua New Guinea Country report on forest invasive species in the Philippines – N.T. Baguinon and M.O. 108 Quimado, University of the Philippines, Los Baños, and G.J. Francisco, Forest Management Bureau, Department of Environment and Natural Resources Status of forest invasive species in Sri Lanka – N.D.R. Weerawardane and J. Dissanayake, 114 Forest Department, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Invasive species in the United States of America: 2003 – David F. Thomas, Forest Health 121 Protection, USDA Forest Service Country report on the forestry invasive species situation in Vanuatu