Chungcheongnam-do launches all-out fight against pine wilt disease, opens way for control at military facilities and speeds up tree-species conversion

[Financial News, Hongseong = Kim Won-jun] The Chungcheongnam-do Provincial Government is stepping up efforts to remove infested trees and carry out control work during the intensive pine wilt disease control period. It has launched an all-out response, including beginning control operations at military facilities—previously a blind spot because of access restrictions and coordination issues—with the cooperation of relevant agencies.
 On the 23rd, the Chungcheongnam-do Provincial Government conducted an on-site inspection of pine wilt disease control work in the area around Hyangcheon-ri, Cheongna-myeon, Boryeong, with around 20 officials from the provincial government, Boryeong City and the Boryeong City Forestry Cooperative in attendance.
 Boryeong is a major affected area in Chungcheongnam-do, classified as being at the “severe” level of damage. Since being designated a special control area on the 29th of last month, the city has formed a dedicated team and pursued intensive control measures, including removing infested trees and converting tree species.
 Those attending the on-site inspection shared updates on control efforts and used drones to closely check progress at sites where tree-species conversion was underway. They also heard about the difficulties faced by field workers and discussed ways to strengthen coordination among agencies.
 In particular, Chungcheongnam-do has made progress with control work at military facilities, where timely operations had been hampered by security and access-approval issues and procedures for obtaining consent to carry out projects. Following close cooperation with the Ministry of National Defense and other relevant agencies, major work at the facility—including felling infested trees—is now underway, and the overall completion rate stands at 80%. Chungcheongnam-do plans to finish the work during the intensive control period.
 According to the Korea Forest Service, the key to stopping the spread of pine wilt disease is to remove and chip infested trees intensively before spring, when the vector beetles Solsuyeom-haneulso and Bukbangsuyeom-haneulso begin to become active. Accordingly, Chungcheongnam-do plans to go beyond simply removing infected trees and expand the use of “species-conversion control,” replacing pine species vulnerable to the disease with broadleaf trees or fruit trees used in species-conversion projects, which are harder for the vector beetles to inhabit, to break the chain of infection at its source.
Ahn Gyu-won, head of Chungcheongnam-do’s Forest Land Management Division, said, “To stop the spread of pine wilt disease, it is more important than anything else to remove infested trees quickly and thoroughly during the intensive control period,” adding, “I will ensure thorough on-site management so that control projects are completed on schedule without disruption.” He added, “We will continue to address gaps in areas where control has been difficult, such as military facilities, and concentrate our control efforts in areas with heavy damage, doing everything we can to stop the spread.”
 Meanwhile, Chungcheongnam-do plans to continue strengthening coordination with relevant organizations, including local governments, forestry cooperatives and the Ministry of National Defense, following this on-site inspection. It will also further intensify surveillance using advanced information and communications technology (ICT), including drones, and respond proactively from the earliest signs of infected trees.

[email protected] Kim Won-jun Reporter