Dear managers of the forent and forpath mailing lists,

Would it be possible to send the following mail through the mailing list to promote a session in next year’s IUFRO meeting in Stockholm (and to remind people that the deadline for abstract submissions is coming up)?

Dear colleages,

The deadline for abstract submissions for the IUFRO 2024 meeting in Stockholm is coming up, and we would like to use the opportunity to motivate you to send abstracts for the session ‘Risk-based surveillance for quarantine forest pests’.

Description of session:

Ongoing globalisation results in increased introductions of non-native organisms in novel environments, mainly connected to trade activities. Some of these organisms can become forest pests, with devastating results. Globally, countries have implemented different schemes of national surveillance for invasive pests and pathogens. National Plant Protection Organisations (NPPOs) are responsible for the surveillance of pests in their countries, as well as their control (eradication, containment).

Preventing the introduction and spread of plants pests, is more cost effective than controlling and mitigating the impact of pests once they have established in a territory. To add to the unknowns, many invasive forest pests become only known to science after introduction in a novel environment. Identifying these threats beforehand (for example by using ex-patria sentinel plantings) is necessary to inform further steps. Furthermore, the pathways of introductions need to be investigated, for example by comparing global trade and invasion patterns, identifying hotspots for invasions and areas particularly suitable for the establishment and spread of invasive pests. Early warning systems (like trapping programs or in-patria sentinel plantings) can then be deployed to inform reactive management like quarantine and eradication efforts. It is of high importance that the benefits of the surveillance and management of quarantine forest pests outweigh the risks of an outbreak, which can be assessed using bio-economic models.

Different surveillance schemes are being developed for and by different countries. Especially on the international level, communication in between countries is limited, while the challenges and opportunities are similar internationally. This session’s ambition is to inform and connect national surveillance schemes on an international level, and scientists that are working on the interface of research and implementation. It also aims to inform decision makers and risk assessors on:

1. Identification of future biotic threats before arrival

2. Identification of pathways

3. Implications for (inter)national measures for surveillance

Kind regards, the organizers of this session

(Benno Augustinus, Maria Chiara Rosace, Andrea Battisti, Brett Hurley, Etsuko Kagaya, Victoria Lantschner, Vittorio Rossi, Valentin Queloz, and Eckehard Brockerhoff)