Environment policy UK: Tree health and plant biosecurity
The UK Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) convened a Tree Health and Plant Biosecurity Expert Taskforce as part of the response to the outbreak of Ash dieback disease caused by Chalara. The Taskforce final report recommendations are..../
- development of a prioritised UK Plant Health Risk Register.
- a Chief Plant Health Officer to own the UK Plant Health Risk Register and to provide strategic and tactical leadership for managing those risks.
- development and implementation procedures for preparedness and contingency planning to predict, monitor, and control the spread of pests and pathogens.
- review, simplification, and strengthening of governance and legislation.
- improvement of the use of epidemiological intelligence from EU/other regions and improvement of the EU regulations concerned with tree health and plant biosecurity.
- strengthening of biosecurity to reduce risks at the border and within the UK.
- development of a modern, user-friendly system to provide quick and intelligent access to information about tree health and plant biosecurity.
- addressing key skills shortages.