Session I: international standards, conventions and agreements
Pest risk assessment for introduced forest pests: Challenges arising from scientific uncertainty
Download 98.73 Kb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- Evaluation of living modified organisms (LMOs) as potential plant pests
- Risk assessment and management of living modified organisms under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
Pest risk assessment for introduced forest pests: Challenges arising from scientific uncertaintyFaith Thompson Campbell, The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, Virginia, USA I propose to address the following topics as they relate to risks associated with invasive alien species in natural systems, specifically forests:
The SPS Agreement and IPPC require that a country evaluate specific threats posed by specific organisms in a risk assessment before instituting phytosanitary controls. These requirements pose significant challenges when governments attempt to protect forests and other natural systems because threats to these natural systems often arise from unknown or little-known species. The number of arthropods extant globally is unknown to an order of magnitude; estimates range from a few million to ten million (Odegaard 2000). Experts estimate that 95 percent of fungal species remain undescribed (Carroll 1998). Even those organisms that are known often behave surprisingly when introduced to new systems. “[O]nly 18 percent of immigrant insects and mites in the United States behaved exactly as one would have expected from their behavior in their country of origin.” (Wallner 2004). According to Wallner, “...forest ecosystems are highly complex, and most forest pests are not thoroughly understood. As a result, the answers to the key questions (These “key questions” were specified as: What is the probability that the introduced species will be harmful? How harmful is the introduced species likely to be?) often represent little more than speculation” (Wallner 2004). The resulting risk that highly damaging plant pests might slip past phytosanitary defences is not hypothetical. Among the damaging forest pests introduced to North America and Europe in the past 150 years are several that were completely unknown to science before they made themselves conspicuous by causing widespread tree mortality in the introduced ranges. These include: chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica (Murr.) Barr), Dutch elm disease (Ophiostoma ulmi (Buis.) Narruf. and Ophiostoma novo-ulmi (Brasier), Port-Orford-cedar root disease (Phytophthora lateralis (Tucker & Milbrath)), dogwood anthracnose (Discula destructiva Redlin), sudden oak death/phytophthora stem and leaf blight (Phytophthora ramorum Werres et al). Scientists still don’t know the centers of origin of several of these pathogens. The critical challenges posed to pest risk assessment by these levels of scientific uncertainty are increasingly recognized by both individual, internationally-recognized scientific experts and phytosanitary agencies. The need to improve the ability of phytosanitary measures to cope with these and other uncertainties was a principal motivation for the North American Plant Protection Organization creating its Plants for Planting Panel to develop a Concept Paper and draft NAPPO standard. This paper will lay out the challenges associated with unknown plant pests that pose a threat to natural ecosystems and explore how PRA procedures might be adapted to improve protection against such organisms. SESSION VI: RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH LIVING MODIFIED ORGANISMS Evaluation of living modified organisms (LMOs) as potential plant pestsTerri Dunahay, USDA-APHIS-BRS, USA Living modified organisms (LMOs) are plants, animals, insects, or microbes or organisms tmicrobes that have been modified using techniques of modern biotechnology or (genetic engineering) (GE) t to express one or more new traits. While much of the public focus has been on genetically engineered ( GE) crops such as corn, soybean or cotton with altered pest resistance or herbicide tolerance, many other products are available or in development. Some examples are fruits and vegetables with altered agronomic or quality traits, LMOs can also include bacteria or yeast modified to produce pharmaceuticals such as insulin, animals with decreased susceptibility to disease, or insects engineered to be biocontrol agents. LMOs that may be released into the environment can have positive, negative, or neutral effects on other organisms. Pest risk assessment is used to evaluate these potential effects on plants in agriculture or unmanaged ecosystems. In response to the increasing development and adoption of GE varieties, and the resulting need for countries to make decisions regarding use and importation of GE products, many countries are developing biosafety frameworks and national regulations to ensure the safe development and use of LMOs. C, and countries such as the United States, Canada, Argentina, and the Philippines have extensive experience in pest risk assessment of LMOs. In April 2004, the IPPC adopted a revision to ISPM-11, the standard for Pest Risk Analysis (PRA) for Quarantine Pests, to address the question of pest risk analysis of LMOs. The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety also addresses the transboundary movement of LMOs with respect to potential impacts on biodiversity. There is a need for increased awareness and understanding by plant protection officials about LMO risk assessment (RA) and the relationship of LMO RA to PRA as performed for “conventional” plant pests. Risk assessment and management of living modified organisms under the Cartagena Protocol on BiosafetyRyan Hill and Cyrie Sendashonga, CBD Secretariat, Montréal, Québec, Canada The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety was negotiated under the auspices of the CBD, entered into force in 2003, and now has more than 100 contracting Parties. The Protocol includes provisions on risk assessment and risk management. Parties are obliged to use risk assessment to support decision-making on imports of living modified organisms (LMOs) that are intended for release into the environment. The Protocol text describes general principles for risk assessment, as well as methodology. While terminology may differ, the general principles and methodology are consistent with the conventional paradigm for risk assessment and management found in other international fora, including the IPPC. This presentation will review the risk assessment and risk management provisions of the Protocol. Directory: static -> media -> files static -> Karen Fittall, 2011, Good Health Issue 09/11 p096-098 10 Superfoods that keep you young static -> Title: ap manager Accounting (Austin, tx) url static -> Internship Jobs Title files -> Codex work on Commodity Standards files -> Ymca automobile driving record worksheet files -> This endorsement changes the policy. Please read it carefully media -> Tukufu: his music was the soundtrack for a generation Download 98.73 Kb. Share with your friends:
|