1. The invasion of alien species has caused great losses.
Due to lax plant quarantine and other reasons, the number of exotic species in China is increasing, and the invasion of these exotic species has caused great losses to our national economy. In 2006, the Afforestation Department of the State Forestry Administration estimated that the annual loss caused by alien species invading forestry was 66 billion. The agricultural sector is estimated to lose 57.4 billion yuan each year.
The American white moth was introduced to Japan in 1945, and then to the Korean peninsula. 1979 was introduced to the northeast and has now invaded Beijing, Shandong and other places. It is estimated that the total loss caused by Hyphantria cunea to China in 2004 was 230 million yuan to 305.2 million yuan.
Eichhornia crassipes originated in South America, 190 1 was introduced to China as a flower, and was popularized as pig feed in 1950s and 1960s, after which a large number of Eichhornia crassipes fled into the wild. In Kunming, Yunnan Province, an ideal tourist route on Daguan River was built in 1970s and 1980s, and tourists can start to visit Dianchi Lake and Xishan Mountain by boat from Kunming. However, since the early 1990s, the water hyacinths in Daguan River and Dianchi Lake have grown wildly, covering the whole Daguan River and part of Dianchi Lake, forcing this tourist route to be cancelled, and the original supporting tourist facilities on both sides of Daguan River have to be scrapped or used for other purposes.
The pine wood nematode, known as "SARS" in the forest, was introduced from Japan to Nanjing in 1982, and then settled in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shandong, Hunan and other places. It poses a great threat to scenic spots such as Huangshan and Zhangjiajie. Hunan is the twelfth endemic province of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus in China. Since it was first discovered in Chenzhou in September, 2003, the epidemic scope has expanded to 4 cities and 6 counties, covering an area of more than 654.38 0.0000 mu, posing a serious threat to 42.36 million mu of pine resources in the province. Bursaphelenchus xylophilus directly threatens the ecological security of Wulingyuan World Natural Heritage (Zhangjiajie National Forest Park), Shaoshan, the former residence of Mao Zedong, and Hengshan, Nanyue.
Liriomyza sativae was first discovered in Hainan in 1993. By 1998, it has occurred in 2 1 provinces and cities across the country, with an area exceeding10.3 million hectares. It parasitizes 22 families 1 10 plants, especially vegetables and melons. At present, in China, the annual cost of controlling Liriomyza sativae is as high as 400 million yuan.
The invasion of alien creatures will not only directly cause huge economic losses, but also bring the following hazards:
(1) to the ecological environment.
In the long-term evolution of nature, organisms and organisms restrict and coordinate with each other, limiting their respective populations to a certain number and habitat, forming a stable ecological balance system. When a species is introduced into a new habitat, if it becomes wild out of human control, it is easy to spread wildly under suitable climate, soil, water and transmission conditions, forming a large-scale dominant community, destroying the composition of local animals and plants, endangering the survival of local endangered animals and plants, and causing the loss of biodiversity.
Due to Mikania micrantha crowding out local plants, macaques on Neilingding Island in Guangdong lack suitable food and can only be artificially fed at present. The spread of Eupatorium odoratum in Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve has endangered local plants such as Polygonum perfoliatum and herbivorous insects that depend on Polygonum perfoliatum for survival.
(2) It poses a direct threat to human health.
Ragweed pollen is one of the main pathogens of human allergy, and the "hay fever" caused by it has brought great harm to human health in many countries around the world. Some exotic animals, such as Ampullaria gigas, are intermediate hosts of human and animal parasitic diseases, and muskrats can spread hare fever, which is easy to bring health problems to surrounding residents.
2.WTO rules and plant quarantine
Countries all over the world attach great importance to plant quarantine in import and export trade. Among many agreements or agreements of WTO, the Agreement on Agricultural Products, the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade and the Agreement on Implementing Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement for short) are related to plant quarantine, and SPS Agreement is the most closely related agreement. To do a good job in plant quarantine after China's entry into WTO, we must first study the SPS agreement seriously and master its spiritual essence, especially the preferential treatment for developing countries. SPS agreement is an important international multilateral agreement reached by the World Trade Organization during the eight-year Uruguay Round negotiations.
With the development of international trade and the improvement of trade liberalization, the implementation of animal and plant quarantine systems in various countries has an increasing impact on trade. In order to protect the domestic market of agricultural and livestock products, some countries, especially some developed countries, use non-tariff barriers to prevent foreign agricultural and livestock products, especially those from developing countries, from entering the domestic market, among which animal and plant quarantine is a very hidden technical barrier measure. Because GATT and TBT are not binding enough on animal and plant health and quarantine measures, the requirements are not specific. Therefore, in the Uruguay Round negotiations, the SPS agreement was formulated through the proposal of many countries, which put forward specific and strict requirements for animal and plant quarantine in international trade. It is the product of the penetration of WTO agreement principles into animal and plant quarantine work.
The main contents of SPS agreement include: purpose, scope of application, equal treatment, pest risk assessment (PRA), non-epidemic areas and low-epidemic areas, transparency, etc. Special or differential treatment, organizational management forms, international standards, guidelines or suggestions are the basis for establishing quarantine measures and necessary quarantine measures.
Risk assessment has become one of the sharpest weapons in plant quarantine, and it is a basic work to formulate quarantine laws and measures. There is no zero risk, which means that the door is closed to the outside world and does not meet the requirements of SPS agreement. This requires us to conduct risk assessment according to IPPC criteria and seek management measures to reduce risks. During 65438-0996, a plant inspection PRA working group was established in China, and PRA was carried out on harmful organisms such as Mediterranean fruit fly, wheat dwarf smut, pine wood nematode, apple moth, potato beetle, pear fire blight and other plant products such as wood packaging, potatoes, apples, plums, grapes and oranges.
PRA can also be used as a hidden technical barrier to reasonably prevent or delay the large number of foreign products from entering the domestic market and protect the interests of domestic agricultural producers. If the protection level can be set higher, more pests will be involved in risk analysis, and the scientific basis will be increased accordingly. Sometimes, relevant basic research needs to be added in the evaluation process. In this way, it will take a long time to complete the assessment, which will objectively prevent some products from entering the country and will not violate the rules of the SPS agreement. For example, Japan, worried that tomatoes are the host of tobacco downy mildew, began to carry out PRA on American tomatoes in Japan in the early 1980s until 1996. Finally, when the United States submitted the case to the WTO for ruling, Japan decided to allow American tomatoes to enter the country in April 1997, and it took 15 years from the beginning of evaluation to the approval of import.
In other words, the Japanese used PRA, a hidden technical barrier, to successfully prevent the entry of American tomatoes in 15, thus protecting the Japanese domestic market. As can be seen from the above examples, how to reasonably apply PRA is very knowledgeable and worth studying by our factory inspectors. At this point, we should learn from the experience and practices of developed countries such as the United States, Japan and the European Union, and strive to avoid detours and improve efficiency.
3. The role of plant quarantine in promoting China's import and export trade
Since the reform and opening up, China's plant quarantine work has been developing continuously, which has made great contributions to controlling imports and promoting exports and achieved remarkable economic benefits.
(1) Inspection of imported plants: Before 2006 10 month, the national entry-exit inspection and quarantine agency * * * intercepted pests 247 times1species104,000 times. On March 65438+May, 2007, Shanghai Waigaoqiao Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau found insect larvae during the quarantine of a batch of imported Turkish cotton linters. The inspection and quarantine personnel shall immediately send the samples to the laboratory for identification, and determine them as a harmful biological dermatophagoides farinae larva that is prohibited from entering the country. This batch of imported Turkish cotton linters * * * has 1 0,645 tons, with a value of $4 1 0,000, divided into 7 1 40-foot containers. In order to prevent the spread of the epidemic, Waigaoqiao Bureau immediately informed the port area to lock all 7/kloc-0 containers and strictly fumigate them one by one. These plant quarantine measures not only keep pests out of the country, but also save huge economic losses for imported enterprises.
(2) Plant quarantine for export: The State Administration of Inspection and Quarantine made every effort to promote the export of agricultural products, and successively signed a number of plant quarantine protocols or work plans with the inspection and quarantine departments of Mexico, Peru, Chile, Thailand, Argentina, the United States, Canada and other countries. Hunan Inspection and Quarantine Bureau assisted the local government to strengthen the construction of Xiangxi Ponkan export base. On February 9, 2007, 20 tons of Xiangxi citrus were successfully exported to Canada, marking the first direct export of Xiangxi citrus to developed countries in recent ten years.
(3) Bilateral consultation and mutual benefit: In recent years, some countries have gained new understanding and practice of the concept of epidemic areas, and SPS agreement also recognizes the existence of non-epidemic areas and low-epidemic areas. In a vast country, due to different climatic conditions, ecological environment and quarantine measures, a specific pest may exist in epidemic areas and non-epidemic areas. Quarantine policies for epidemic areas and non-epidemic areas should be treated differently, and this rule should be fully used to break down foreign barriers and expand exports. For example, in the past, Japan listed the whole China as a fruit fly epidemic area (in fact, it only occurred in some areas in the south), and after on-the-spot investigation, investigation and research by the quarantine departments of both sides, it was determined that * * area in China was a non-epidemic area. Therefore, Japan is allowed to import * * cantaloupe.
At the same time, it can also accept products from non-epidemic areas and promote trade development. In the past, China listed the United States and Chile as the epidemic areas of the Mediterranean fruit fly, and banned the import of fruits from these two countries. In recent years, with the joint efforts of the plant inspection departments of both sides, it has been confirmed that some areas of the two countries are non-epidemic areas of the Mediterranean fruit fly, and it is allowed to import apples from Washington, USA, and apples and kiwifruit from Chile without epidemic areas, with the conditions (designated orchards, packaging plants, monitoring, low-temperature treatment, no quarantine pests, designated entry ports, etc.). ). The above practices have a certain scientific basis and meet the requirements of SPS agreement, which not only effectively prevents the introduction and export of pests, but also promotes the development of trade, and is the direction of plant quarantine work in the future.