Is policy paralysis on quarantine issues in the Near East and North Africa region leading to the buildup and spread of red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus?

Abstract

Balijepalli, S.B. and J.R. Faleiro. 2019. Is policy paralysis on quarantine issues in the Near East and North Africa region leading to the buildup and spread of red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus?. Arab Journal of Plant Protection, 37(2): 89-100. The red palm weevil (RPW) is now a global threat, demanding a global strategy for its control and eventual eradication. In North Africa, RPW has been reported from all the countries except Algeria leaving several queries as to why this pest did not reach there. Enforcement of strict quarantine measures in the five Maghreb countries of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania kept the weevil at bay until 2008, but the region is today riddled with this dreaded pest with the exception of Algeria. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that strict regulatory regimes can restrict the spread and eventually eradicate the pest. The RPW-IPM program of Canary Islands in Spain where the RPW was effectively eradicated with no reports of weevil captures since 2016 is a classic example. Likewise, in Mauritania and Morocco quarantine laws did prevent the spread of the weevil, restricting it to the original foci of infestation. Ineffective quarantine regimes coupled with weak enforcement and difficulties in early detection of infested plants contributed to the rapid spread of RPW. Country reports on variety of issues right from the status, challenges and recommendations with respect to RPW control in Egypt,

Diversity of Gastrointestinal Nematodes in Domestic Ruminants of Uzbekistan

“…Stringent quarantine processes have been adopted in countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Mauritania to restraint RPW at estuary up to 2008, however except Algeria the pest spread to the neighbor countries. This clearly shows that strict quarantine practices can limit the spread of the pest (Balijepalli and Faleiro, 2019). In Spain RPW in the Canary Islands have been effectively controlled due to strict implementation of RPW-IPM program.…”

Global Advances on Insect Pest Management Research in Oil Palm

“…The movement of infested palms plays a key role in aiding the spread of invasive pests to new regions [10,85]. For instance, the rapid spread of R. ferrugineus in North Africa was attributed to ineffective quarantine regimes, weak enforcement, and difficulty in early detection of the pest [128]. Therefore, strict pre-and post-entry quarantine regulations such as stopping the importation of palm offshoots from already infested countries are highly important in preventing the spread of invasive oil palm pests.…”

“…Regulatory strategies helped to prevent the spread of R. ferrugineus in Mauritania and Morocco, restricting it to the original foci of the infestation [128]. In 1996, Spain published an order detailing provisional measures for preventing the spread of R. ferrugineus in the country [129].…”

Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistant Genes in Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Bovine Mastitis

“…In this regard, phytosanitary regulations and recommendations have been prepared in 2018 mission on phytosanitation and quarantine protocols for KSA that might assist as per plans on quarantine matters against RPW. The explicit procedures include phytosanitary legislation particularly palm tree checkups, infested palms removal, palms movement and treatment protocols, palm nurseries certification according to IPPC standards (ISPM 36) with establishing standard tissue culture laboratories to expedite RPW free planting material throughout the region (Balijepalli and Faleiro, 2019).…”