Forestry Commission - Planting and Managing Woods

Introduction of emergency measures against Anoplophora chinensis (citrus longhorn beetle)

The citrus longhorn beetle is a damaging quarantine pest of a range of trees and shrubs. The common name is a bit misleading because this pest can be found on many different species of trees, and outbreaks in northern Italy, and of the related Anoplophora glabripennis in the USA, have shown the potential of these pests to move with international trade and cause damage. The natural range of the beetle includes China, Japan and other countries in South East Asia. They are a threat to horticulture, forestry and woodland trees in the UK and also to citrus production in the Mediterranean.

In response to the recent findings in the UK and elsewhere (particularly Netherlands and Germany) emergency measures have recently been agreed by the European Commission’s Standing Committee on Plant Health. The measures include restrictions on the import of a wide range of plants from countries where the beetle is known to be present, which requires plants to have been grown in a pest free area or a pest free production site, and monitored for at least two years. The measures are planned to come into effect at the beginning of November when they are published in the Official Journal of the EU and amendments to our domestic Plant Health legislation will come into force at about the same time .

Unless China and the other countries where citrus longhorn beetle is known to be present already have areas or places of production which have been monitored and found free for the last two years, this amounts to a de facto ban while they set up the necessary arrangements to ensure that consignments can be sent without the pest in future.

The relevant plant health authorities in exporting countries have been informed that consignments arriving in the UK after the measures come into force will have to have the necessary additional declaration on the phytosanitary certificate, and will be subject to inspection at import, including some destructive sampling (this pest can be very difficult to detect without actually cutting the plants open). Any consignments arriving prior to the new legislation being in force will be subject to intensive inspection, including destructive sampling, and destruction or rejection if there is any evidence of infestation. Some other Member States (particularly The Netherlands ) are also taking the same approach, to ensure there is no delay in implementation of the EU requirements. (updated 22 October 2008)

United States of America: on May 22, 2008, the Lacey Act was amended to make it illegal to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase any plant or products made from plants. With limited exceptions regulated goods will need to be accompanied by a declaration giving information on the species of plant or plant product (the scientific name), the name of the country where it was harvested and the value and quantity.

Declarations will be welcomed from December 15, 2008, but are not mandatory on wood/wood products and certain plant/plant products until April 1, 2009. There is a further date of July 1, 2009 for implementation of the declaration requirement on other miscellaneous products like paper, furniture etc.

Wood packaging material and cardboard boxes not being used to carry plant or plant products will be exempt from the new requirements. For further information (updated 13 October 2008)

Important note for Importers

Notification to the Forestry Commission's Plant Health Service of imports of susceptible material from Portugal. (Update 8 September 2008).

Nearly 90% of Britain's timber requirement is imported, mainly from Scandinavia, the Baltic States, Canada and Russia. In addition, a vast range of other commodities are imported into the country every day and nearly all of these have wooden packaging material of one form or other associated with them. While some goods are carried on high quality pallets, much of this packaging and the loose wood used to wedge cargoes (or dunnage as it is known), is made up of low quality wood which can often present a high plant health risk.

The importation not only of timber, but also of other goods presents a risk to British forests and woodlands because imported wood may carry tree pests which are not currently present in GB, but which could easily establish populations in our growing forests. These pests have the potential of killing large areas of forest or seriously damaging other woodland and amenity trees. Dutch elm disease is a reminder of how such an introduction can dramatically alter our landscape. Asian Longhorn Beetle is causing significant damage to New York's and Chicago's trees. More recently this pest, a native of China, has been found in Austria, France and Germany. In all cases, wooden packaging is believed to have been the pathway.

The aim of the Plant Health Service is to protect the forests and the timber industry of Great Britain and the rest of the EU. To do this, we draw up and apply rules on both the import and export of forestry material (trees, timber and timber products) and the movement of this material within the EU. The rules which we make are usually based on EC law. The Plant Health (Forestry) Order 2005 is the statutory instrument which sets out import controls. See information on all current forestry Plant Health legislation. Statutory Instruments can be viewed on the TSO website by clicking on the link to the right.

In order to prevent the introduction of new plant pests into this country and to control the spread of pests which already exist here, we:

The Plant Health Service is at the Forestry Commission's office in Edinburgh, where the Head of Plant Health and Operations Manager are based. There are two regional officers who support Plant Health Inspectors over the whole of Great Britain. Their regions are North, (Scotland, North England as far south as the counties of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, North Yorkshire excluding Humber ports and North Wales) and South (all counties of England south of those mentioned and South Wales) . We keep our clients informed of the rules and other significant items of interest by publishing regular Plant Health Newsletters. We aim to publish these at six-monthly intervals. We also publish a range of advisory leaflets and posters, which can be ordered, usually free of charge, from the Plant Health Service at the Forestry Commission Edinburgh Office.

Plant health