Publication
Authors
Geoffrey M. Williams, International Sentinel Network Coordinator, US Forest Service
Matthew D. Ginzel, Professor of Entomology, Purdue University
Zhao Ma, Professor of Natural Resource Social Science, Purdue University
Damian C. Adams, Professor of Natural Resource Economics and Policy, University of Florida
Faith Campbell, President, Center for Invasive Species Prevention
Gary M. Lovett, Forest Ecologist, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
María Belén Pildain, Researcher, Andean Patagonian Forestry Research and Extension Center, National Council for Scientific and Technical Research, Argentina
Kenneth F. Raffa, Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Kamal J.K. Gandhi, Wheatly Distinguished Professor of Forest Health, University of Georgia
Alberto Santini, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Richard A. Sniezko, Forest Geneticist, US Forest Service
Michael J. Wingfield, Professor University of Pretoria, South Africa
Pierluigi (Enrico) Bonello, Professor of Plant Pathology, The Ohio State University
Quick Take
Forests purify the air we breathe, filter the water we drink, and provide resources to build our homes and grow our businesses. But forests are experiencing loss of habitats and species across the globe, and the world’s response to the forest health crisis could prove a defining moment for the state of our environment. Forests hold entire ecosystems and provide carbon stocks that make human life possible. As global trade grows, the introduction of non-native pathogens and insects may also grow. These introduced species devastate forests.
Forests are a social good. Because forests support human cultures and economies, protecting forests and ensuring their longevity is beneficial to everyone. Failing to do so shifts this social good to a universal threat. Specifically, failing to protect against pathogen and pest exportation may provide some local economic benefits, but the consequences are global, leaving other areas of the world to suffer the consequences. Further, the forest health crisis is connected to the broader challenge of promoting ecologically and economically sustainable human activity. What is the best way to protect our forests for the long-term? A team of researchers, initiated and directed by Enrico Bonello from the Department of Plant Pathology in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, examined the forest health crisis and proposed an outline of actions to improve forest health, ultimately creating a more sustainable resource.
Recommendations
Researchers suggest that short-term actions could play an important role in addressing the forest health crisis. These actions include nationally determined embargoes, quarantines, and import inspections to protect against pathogens introduced in global trade. Any violators should be held accountable and penalized for introducing non-native insects and pathogens.
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Forest health is a collective social good, so there is a need for a common vision, trust, coordinated cooperation, public education and awareness, locally adapted strategies, and shared investment among all global actors.
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To establish a common vision for forest health, world leaders must collectively act to empower, engage, and listen to various people with an interest in forest health. This action incorporates more worldviews and interests into the forest health framework, which ultimately creates greater will for biodiversity stewardship and a more resilient society.
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Promoting forest health also promotes the health of global economies and local communities. Forest health measures, therefore, can be incorporated into efforts to empower local and indigenous communities, lower- and middle-income countries, the conservation of biodiversity, and collective action to address climate change.
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Researchers emphasize that, to make short-term actions effective, it is necessary for a shift away from market-driven decision-making and toward a global collective action approach. Prioritizing commercial interests over the greater interest of all users and ecosystems ignores the intrinsic, cultural, and non-market values of forest ecosystems, which need to be accounted for in decisions and policy.
Citation
Williams, G., Ginzel, M.D., Ma, Z., Adams, D.C., Campbel, F.l, Lovett G.M., Pildain M.D., Raffa, K.N., Gandhi K.J.K., Santini, A., Sniezko R.A., Wingfield, M.J., Bonello, P., “The Global Forest Health Crisis: A Public-Good Social Dilemma in Need of International Collective Action.” Annual Review of Phytopathology, 2023, 61:1, 377-401, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-phyto-021722-024626