“Coordination across city and provincial borders is key” ... Korea Forest Service (KFS) chief Park Eunsik inspects pine wilt disease control efforts in Gapyeong

[Financial News] As the peak season for intensive pine wilt disease control gets underway, KFS chief Park Eunsik visited a control site in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi Province, to inspect progress and call for close coordination among neighboring local governments.
KFS said Park visited a pine wilt disease control project site in Ihwa-ri, Gapyeong-eup, Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi Province, on the 23rd, received a briefing on the on-site control plan, and discussed effective control measures.
Ihwa-ri, Gapyeong-eup, Gapyeong County, where the site inspection took place, is a border area adjacent to Hongcheon County and Chuncheon in Gangwon Province. It is considered a key management area where active cooperation between cities and provinces and simultaneous control operations are essential to prevent the widespread spread of pine wilt disease across administrative boundaries.
Pine wilt disease can spread to neighboring areas in no time if there are gaps in control along local-government borders, because its vector beetles, Solsuyum haneulso and Bukbangsuyeom haneulso, move around and carry the pathogen. Accordingly, KFS is focusing on blocking the vectors’ routes by strengthening surveillance along border areas between cities and provinces and coordinating the timing and methods of control operations among local governments.
At the site, Park said, “Close cooperation between the central and local governments is essential for pine wilt disease control projects, as is joint action between cities and provinces.” He added, “If the area is designated as a special pine wilt disease control area on the 29th, please do your utmost to ensure more proactive and thorough control.”
Meanwhile, as climate change has recently extended the vectors’ activity period and widened the area affected, KFS has been combining advanced precision surveillance using drones with tree-species conversion projects. In severely affected areas, it plans to fundamentally break the chain of infection by replacing infected trees with broadleaf trees or other species resistant to pine wilt disease, rather than simply felling and chipping them.
[email protected] Kim Won-jun Reporter