The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) is calling for a temporary suspension on the importation of timber from Scotland until a full review of the biosecurity measures for the great spruce bark beetle is undertaken.
The insect tunnels into the bark of living trees to lay eggs and the larvae feed on the living woody material. This forms cavities which can weaken the tree and eventually kill it.
The insect is now an established pest in southern Scotland and is slowly extending its range northwards.
Timber is only imported to Ireland from a pest free area (PFA) in Western Scotland, and the PFA status is regularly monitored by the Scottish Forestry Commission.
Timber
IFA Farm Forestry Committee chair Jason Fleming has urged the government to take the threat posed by the insect to the Irish forestry sector more seriously “given the gravity of the situation”.
“Our first priority must be to prevent a spruce bark beetle outbreak in Ireland and protect our valuable spruce forests,” he said.
82% of the private grant aided forest estate is comprised of conifers predominantly Sitka spruce, this equates to over 200,000ha of privately owned forests.
“There are several species of bark beetle that pose a threat, most notably the great spruce bark beetle (Dendroctonus micans) and European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus), which is the most destructive and has destroyed millions of hectares of forests causing havoc on the timber market,” Fleming said.
He said that farmers do not have confidence that the current biosecurity measures are sufficient to prevent the insect from arriving in Ireland.
Temporary suspension
The IFA Forestry chair has written to Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) Pippa Hackett calling for the immediate establishment of a Spruce Bark Beetle Taskforce.
“We believe a temporary suspension of timber being imported from Scotland is necessary while a full review of the biosecurity protocols and measures in undertaken, the potential risk is just too great, we need swift and robust action to prevent an outbreak in Ireland.
Fleming said that the the great spruce bark beetle was introduced into the UK after it was accidentally imported via a consignment of imported timber.
“We need to ensure that we do not expose Ireland’s timber industry to the same risk.
“An outbreak would have a profound and long-lasting impact on Ireland’s forest ecosystems; reducing timber value, causing major disruption to timber supply and reducing carbon storage in our forests,” he said.