Urgent response needed to save national icon
green-party
Mon Oct 19 2009 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Urgent response needed to save national icon
Monday, 19 October 2009, 9:15 am
Press Release: Green Party
18 October 2009
Urgent response needed to save national icon
The Government needs to act swiftly and definitively to save New Zealand’s iconic kauri trees from a killer pathogen – kauri rot - that is decimating them.
Green Party Biosecurity Spokesman Kevin Hague is urging the Government to fund research to combat the threat to our environment and our economy posed by kauri rot (also known as Phytophthora taxon Agathis or kauri dieback).
An enhanced public information and awareness campaign to prevent the spread of kauri rot by restricting movements around affected stands of trees and strict cleaning of boots and tyres is also necessary, while a long term solution is investigated.
“Kauri rot is the Didymo of the Forest and it’s now time for the Government to step up to the plate and address this threat to our heritage with urgency,” Mr Hauge said today.
“Conservation Minister Tim Groser’s recent announcement of plans to create a National Park in Northland’s Waipoua Forest will be a waste of money if Tane Mahuta and other giants of the kauri forest fall victim to kauri rot.”
While Mr Hague acknowledged the work done by a joint agency team - of MAF Biosecurity NZ, the Department of Conservation, Auckland Regional Council, Northland Regional Council, Environment Waikato and Environment Bay of Plenty - he said their work has been underfunded so far and haste is of the essence.
The kauri rot pathogen has been in the soil for at least 10 years and attacks the foliage of kauri of all ages and stages of growth, Mr Hague said.
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“In the early colonial era, kauri were prized for their tall trunks which made ideal ship masts. Now that eerie ship mast image is recurring as affected kauri lose their branches and leaves, leaving only diseased trunks.
“Kauri are a taonga to New Zealanders. Delaying further the response to this urgent threat could affect both the environment and the economy by jeopardising one of our key national icons.”
* Kauri rot infestations have been found in Northland and Auckland. Initially it was thought that the Auckland problem was confined to Piha and the Waitakere Ranges but it is spreading into town, with many confirmed cases in Titirangi
Symptons of kauri rot are yellowing leaves, dead branches, lesions that bleed resin over the lower two metres of the trunk. Eventually the tree dies. Kauri rot spreads through soil and can be transferred by people on the soles of their shoes, car tyres and equipment. Wild pigs and deer can spread it also.
Here are some links to pictures of healthy and affected trees:
Healthy tree: http://www.festivesearch.com/blogs/aroundtheworld/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/800-year-old-kauri-tree.jpg
Affected trees: http://www.piha.co.nz/gfx/Kauridecline1wb.jpg This shows the canopy of an affected tree
This one shows an infected trunk: http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/files/imagecache/sample/files/pests-and-diseases/kauri.jpg
ENDS
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