2454 final report.pdf - Agra CEAS Consulting

Evaluation of the Community Plant Health Regime: Final Report
DG SANCO Evaluation Framework Contract Lot 3 (Food Chain)
Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (red palm weevil)
The first damage due to Rhynchophorus ferrugineus was seen in 1993 in Spain. Initial
harmonisation efforts for common control measures between MS started in 1999 but the final
Commission Decision only appeared in 2007 (2007/365/EC), therefore quite late for
preventing the spread of this HO. Due to the fact that palms were introduced through MS
ports, and that these palms reached Spain through European internal trade, the measures
adopted by Spain regarding the importation of palm from third countries became ineffective.
The emergency measures taken in 2007 imposed compulsory surveillance. When the first
monitoring overview was completed in 2008, the results demonstrated that the pest was
present in all MS on the Mediterranean Sea (ES, IT, EL, CY and PT).
The potential economic, social and environmental consequences associated with the
introduction and spread of Rhynchophorus ferrugineus are very important, mainly because
once introduced, it is very difficult to control or to eradicate it. This pest is difficult to detect
because it firstly produces only internal damages, with no visible symptoms. The main
pathway of the pest has indeed been through movement of latently infested plants for
planting.
The eradication measures are very expensive and in some cases they involve the destruction
of the plant. Due to the high value of palm, economic losses due to destruction are very
important. Additional losses can be associated with the quarantine period imposed by the
emergency measures (i.e. the plants have to stay in quarantine one year in the country of
origin and one year in the receiving country; within the EU, if the palm comes from a
demarcated area, the quarantine period is two years in the MS). Nurseries also have to be
inspected every three months, and this implies costs for the CA and for producers.
In Spain, the production cost of palm plants has increased by €0.35 per year for a small palm
and €3 per year for a big one, due to phytosanitary treatment. The compensation paid by the
state from 1997 to 2009 to cover producers‘ losses amounted to nearly €24.8 million.
Palms are planted for decorative purpose in public and private gardens. In some areas the
palms are of outstanding environmental value. For example, in Elche (Alicante) there is the
biggest palm forest in Europe and it is world heritage by UNESCO.
In Malta, the cost borne by the public private partnership ELC (Environmental Landscaping
Consortium) in relation to preventive treatment of a total of 5,013 palms in public areas (soft
landscaping areas and major arteries) amounted to € 78,829 in 2008.
In Cyprus, the public authorities spent € 35,000 in 2008 for chemical control, the placing of
pheromone traps and a public awareness campaign related to Rhynchophorus ferrugineus.
This HO has had a large impact also in other countries, such as Italy and Greece (although
information was not specifically provided by these countries in the cost survey). In Italy the
HO, first appeared in Toscana in 2004, spread in the following years in several regions
(Lazio, Liguria, Sicilia, Sardegna, Puglia and Campania). In the years 2007-2008, around
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