21 October 2004 - Species introduced from a foreign land and climate can sometimes cause damage to the economy, environment and human health in new host ecosystems in the absence of natural enemies. The threat of so called invasive species on native ecosystems is not new and has existed since ages immemorial. However, the threat has grown incrementally with the increase in trade, travel and transport and the Asia-Pacific countries have taken it into their hands to build a network in order to control their spread and damages.

Because forest invasive species move easily across national boundaries and in light of damages caused by these species, FAO has recently launched the Asia-Pacific Forest Invasive Species Network. By building capacity, raising awareness and sharing information, the network aims to enhance the sharing of expertise, help put systems in place to close down incursion pathways, as well as minimize risk from forest invasive species throughout the region.

One of its pilot projects is to control the spread of the Eucalyptus rust - a disease that poses a threat to the Eucalyptus in Asia and the Pacific. The pest is already widespread in South and Central America, but to date its incidence in Asia is limited to a single unconfirmed report of its occurrence in Taiwan Province of China. Nonetheless, its spread into the large Eucalyptus (and other Myrtaceae species) forests and plantations of Asia and the Pacific could be devastating. Experts in forest tree diseases discussed the potential threat at a workshop in Bangkok (19-21 October 2004) in order to raise awareness of the problem and take appropriate measures to prevent incursions of this pathogen into the region.

In the Asia and the Pacific alone, the damage caused by invasive species to the environment and the control measures to eradicate them amount to such heavy losses that in the United States alone, invasive plants cost about US$13 billion annually. More than 8 million hectares of forests are affected each year in China. Australia annually spends US$115 million on quarantine activities and has spent over US$139 million since 1996 on various plant pest eradication programs.