Biosecurity
Biosecurity in Forestry
It is a combination of all measures, programs and services delivered by national and international, institutions, organizations, communities and other stakeholders that enables the protection of forests, forest ecosystems and services, trees outside forests, and forest products from new or established invasive species and native pest outbreaks.
These measures include pest management activities such as prevention and early detection, and response.
Prevention is the most effective defense against biological invasions. Once invasive species are established, eradicating or controlling them becomes difficult and costly.
Early detection is crucial for successful eradication and is achieved through regular surveys (general, site-specific, species-specific) to identify newly established species.Response to invasive species includes eradication, containment, control, and mitigation.
Eradication involves eliminating the entire population of an invasive species - this is possible only when early detection is achieved.
Certain groups, including plants, terrestrial vertebrates, some invertebrates, and insects, are more suitable for eradication.
Containment restricts the spread of an invasive species to a defined geographical range. To do so, may require implementing measures such as restricting the movement of goods or people between affected and non-affected areas.
Control programmes aim for long-term reduction in abundance of invasive species below a pre-set acceptable threshold.
Control methods include mechanical, chemical, biological, habitat management, or hunting, and control programmes often include a combination of these methods.
Biological control of invasive plants and invertebrates involves the strategic use of insects, mites, or pathogens sourced from the target pest's native habitat. This method has proven to be a safe, sustainable, and cost-effective approach to managing invasive species.
To learn more about this control measure, read FAO’s Guide to the classical biological control of insect pests in planted and natural forests.
If eradication, containment, and control fail, mitigation focuses on protecting native species. Mitigation methods include translocation of populations and alterations in the behavior of desired species.Invasive species are destructive and impact both developed and developing worlds. Phytosanitary measures prevent or limit the entry, establishment and spread of pests that may otherwise have serious impacts on the world’s plant resources.
National and international phytosanitary standards are crucial for preparedness, prevention, and control of invasive species.
The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), is an international multilateral treaty for cooperation in plant protection, aimed at securing common and effective action to prevent the spread and introduction of pests of plants and plant products and promoting appropriate measures for their control. As of 2023, there are 46 endorsed International Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs).
FAO has prepared the Guide to implementation of phytosanitary standards in forestry providing insight into how to apply ISPMs to forestry.The health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants (trees), and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and interdependent.
Unfortunately, risks stemming from unhealthy environmental factors, magnified by climate change, pose a threat to the health of animals, plants, and entire ecosystems. This not only affects food security but also accelerates the spread of infectious diseases, affecting humans, animals, and plants (trees).
The One Health approach can help prevent and control health threats to all living beings. It is an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of humans, animals, plants (trees) and ecosystems.
Relevant publications
Guide to the classical biological control of insect pests in planted and natural forests
Classical biological control is a well-tried, cost-effective approach to the management of invasive forest pests. It involves the importing of “natural enemies” of non-native pests from their countries of origin with the aim of establishing permanent, self-sustaining populations capable of sustainably reducing pest populations below damaging levels.