170 



concern on importing raw wood via "full container load* shipping containers. Nearly 

 50 percent of containers at the Port of Auckland during 6 months in 1978 had incor- 

 rect information on manifests as to wood content and 14 percent had no code. For- 

 estry ofEdals feared shippers had been deliberately miscoding the contents to avoid 

 quarantine delay (Foley 1980). In consequence, a committee recommended mor 

 stringent controls on cargo shipments. The committee also recommended that the 

 Ministry of Agriculture "automatically hold for inspection all foresters entering New 

 Zealand, and should require formalised cleaning of boots, drydeaning of clothing 

 worn in forests, etc.' It further recommended inspecting and cleaning all camping 

 gear used in foreign forests (Anonymous 1982). 



New, stronger regulations were recently adopted. The Forest Produce Import and 

 Export Regulations of 1989 require prior notice to the quarantine officer of esdmat- 

 ed time of arrival of any vessel importing forest produce, and provision of a full mani- 

 fest (including any pallets). Forest produce is defined to include timber and dun- 

 nage; dunnage does not include packing cases or pallets. If a quarantine injector 

 suspects infestation, he or she may require quarantine and treatment according to an 

 appropriate prescription. The costs of inspecdon, excluding dunnage inspection, 

 such as transport to a quarantine facility, treatment, etc., are paid by the importer. 



Chilean Importations 



A third risk assessment was conducted to address potential introducdons of exotic 

 pests on wood importations from Chile of Monterey pine and two indigenous hard- 

 woods, coigue (Nothofagus dombeyi) and tepa {Laurelia philippiana). A six-member 

 team assisted by both U.S. and Chilean experts conducted individual assessments of 

 arthropods and diseases that have a probability of being introduced into this country. 

 This report was released in September 1993 (USDA Forest Service 1993). The team 

 examined the risk of introduction for ten insects and four types of diseases associated 

 with Monterey pine. Risks associated with six major arthropods on coigue and tWL 

 diseases common to both coigue and tepa were assessed by the team. Only "limited 

 consideration" was given to other harmful pests, e.g., nematodes, that "conceivably" 

 could be associated with logs from Chile (USDA Forest Service 1993). No overall esti- 

 mate of costs associated with these possible introductions was made. 



After considering both risk of introducdon and probable impacts in the spheres of 

 economics, ecology, and public percepuon, the team ranked the risk from only one 

 of the insect pests found on Monterey pine as "high." A bark beeUe, Hylurguj ligniper- 

 da, could be a vector for the fungus Leoptographium spp., which causes black stain root 

 disease (USDA Forest Service 1993). A group of pathogens, classified variously as 

 Ophwstoma or Ceralocystis spp., were ranked as "moderate to high" risks overall. Risk of 

 introduction was considered "high." Economic and ecological damage were consid- 

 ered to be significant, however, only if Chilean strains of the fungi prove to cause vas- 

 cular wilt (USDA Forest Service 1993). "Moderate" risks were assigned to ten species 

 or groups associated with Pinus radiata, six found on coigue (USDA Forest Service 

 1993). 



Comparison of the Assessments 



A comparison of the Siberian, New Zealand, and Chilean risk assessments raises a 

 number of troubling questions. The authors of the Chilean assessment note two dis- 

 turbing tendencies not adequately addressed in the Siberian and New Zealand assess- 

 ments. The first is the prevalence of bark-inhabiting insects on de-barked logs (USDj* 

 Forest Service 1993). We suggest that these reports confirm doubts about the effec- 

 tiveness of de-barking as a phytosanitary measure. Second, the Chilean assessment 



