“Preemptively stopping the spread of pine wilt disease”... Korea Forest Service accelerates efforts to turn lightly affected areas into disease-free zones

[Financial News] The Korea Forest Service is stepping up intensive support at the national level and strengthening on-site management to quickly turn areas lightly affected by pine wilt disease into disease-free zones.
 The Korea Forest Service said on the 12th that it had held a situation management meeting of the National Pine Wilt Disease Control Response Team at Government Complex Daejeon, where it discussed detailed measures to quickly transition lightly affected areas to disease-free status.
 At the meeting, participants closely assessed control efforts carried out over the past two weeks by regional officers in charge, as well as the results of on-site inspections. The National Pine Wilt Disease Control Response Team recently visited 18 cities, counties and districts, including areas targeted for transition to disease-free status, to meet with local government heads and inspect control sites. It compiled difficulties raised on-site and tasks requiring improvement and discussed them at the meeting.
 The Korea Forest Service decided to actively reflect local governments’ on-site feedback and consider expanding the areas targeted for transition to disease-free status. It will also provide funding and control technology and launch a system of regular on-site inspections by regional officers in charge.
 In areas where control efforts have been inadequate, the Korea Forest Service will strengthen oversight of on-site implementation, including by analyzing the causes from multiple angles and drawing up tailored improvement plans. The plan is to preemptively stop the disease from spreading to other areas by gradually transitioning lightly affected areas to disease-free status first.
 Korea Forest Service Chief Park Eunsik said, “With pine wilt disease, how actively we respond in the early stages, when the damage is still limited, determines success or failure.” He added, “We will do our utmost to ensure that expanding the areas targeted for transition to disease-free status leads to tangible results in disease control by coordinating local governments’ voluntary participation, the central government’s funding and technical support, and close on-site inspections.”
 Pine wilt disease is transmitted by the insect vectors Monochamus alternatus and Bukbangsuyeomhaneulso, and is a devastating forest disaster that causes trees to dry out and die in 100% of cases once infected. As hot, dry weather associated with climate change has lengthened the vectors’ period of activity and rapidly changed their growing conditions, concerns about infection have grown even in some disease-free areas previously classified as safe. This has brought the importance of proactive control to secure a critical window into sharper focus.

[email protected] Kim Won-jun Reporter