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Forest activists. You can run, but you can’t hide. Sooner or later, a dangerous, new exotic pest from Europe was going to invade our ancient forests. That pest has arrived: its called... the World Trade Organization (WTO). Next month, the Council of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) will meet in Rome to adopt new plant health and safety rules that will limit how countries regulate products, such as raw logs and food, that may carry exotic, invasive species. These new rules will be enforceable through the WTO, where our protections can be challenged as "barriers to trade." Already, our forests have suffered extensive damage from exotic pests. The American chestnut and native elm speices on the East Coast were virtually wiped out by exotics. As raw log and chip imports increase, the threat grows. In December 1994, a shipment of untreated wood chips from new Zealand spilled in the Willamette National Forest while being transported to Prneville, Oregon. The chips had to be vacuumed from the forest floor to prevent potential infestation. Infestations by exotic pests have eliminated wildlife habitat, threatened native biodiversity, induced increased pesticide use, and inflicted serious economic damage. When all types of invasive exotic species are considered -- including aquatic organisms and feral mammals as well as plant pests and weeds -- they contribute to the endangerment of 42% of the American species listed under the ESA. Next to habitat loss, invasive species are the second biggest threat to native biodiversity. Most harmful exotics are not the result of intentional releases or contraband, but are due to unintentional "hitchhiking" on imports. As trade grows, you would think the US government would want to strengthen safety precautions on our borders. Right? Wrong! Under pressure from such industry trade associations as the American Forest and Paper Association which dominate the closed-door US trade advisory system, the US government is supporting the new, weaker plant health standards in the FAO. At next month’s meeting, the FAO will consider revisions to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). The revised text of the Convention will govern the types and stringency of plant and animal health and safety standards that party states may enact in order to protect their agricultural and natural resources from damage by exotic insects, plant diseases, and invasive plants. The proposed revisions will be enforceable by WTO sanctions. The new rules will open wide our borders to invasive pests. Framed without public input or an enviornmental impact statement, the new rules reject the precautionary principle and require economic justification for controls on pest, ignoring the difficulty of predicting the ecological consequences of introduced species. As if this weren’t enough, the Clinton Administration recently agreed to legislation (HR 2621) authorizing "fast-track", no-amendments approval of new trade agreements. Among other troubelsome provisions, this proposed legislation authorizes new talks in the World Trade Organization to further limit animal and plant health and safety laws as potential trade barriers. Perversely, the legislation also encourages trade agreements that "optimize the use of the world’s resources." You can read this to mean increasing raw log imports, as if our forests weren’t sufficiently threatened already by exotic pests. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club |
