Limited Knowledge of Plant Biosecurity Increases Biological Threats

Plant Biosecurity 'Champions' with facilitators in Brisbane this week for Crawford Fund Master Class in Communication after 4 weeks of biosecurity placements around the Australia. By Caley PigliucciUNITED NATIONS, Jun 3 2019 (IPS) The plant-life on the Pacific Islands is currently under threat as protections against diseases and pests are left in the hands of under-trained personnel with limited facilities. Talei Fidow-Moors, the Principal Quarantine Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in Samoa, warned in a statement to IPS of an “increased potential of introducing regulated pests and diseases that pose a serious threat to agriculture, livelihood and fragile ecosystems.” Plant biosecurity aims at protecting plants from these diseases and pests that non-native species bring into a region. The World Health Organization (WHO) calls biosecurity an “essential of sustainable agricultural development.” Despite its importance, over a five-week training course with the Pacific Plant Biosecurity Partnership (PPBP) that finished on May 31, biosecurity ‘champions’ from countries across the Pacific Islands noted biological threats largely due to a lack in knowledge of biosecurity, which the training program attempted to begin to address. IPS spoke with three biosecurity ‘champions’ from Kiribati, Samoa, and Vanuatu who were in training with the PPBP to increase biosecurity provisions. Each representative identified a lack i...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Asia-Pacific Biodiversity Economy & Trade Education Environment Featured Food & Agriculture Headlines Health TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news