According to the website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, recently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the General Administration of Customs jointly issued the Measures for the Administration of Alien Invasive Species (hereinafter referred to as the Measures). The reporter interviewed the relevant person in charge of the Department of Science, Technology and Education of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on relevant issues.
Q: Please tell us about the background of the promulgation of the Measures.
A:The prevention and control of alien species invasion is related to national food security, biological security and ecological security. In recent years, with the increasingly frequent commodity trade and personnel exchanges in China, the diffusion routes of alien invasive species are more diversified and concealed. Most invasive species can find suitable living environment in China. Once colonized, it is difficult to eradicate them completely, which seriously affects the ecological environment of the invasive areas and damages the sustainable development and biodiversity of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery. The Biosafety Law of People’s Republic of China (PRC), which was promulgated on October 17th, 2020 and came into effect on April 15th, 2021, clearly stipulates that "the state shall strengthen the prevention and response to the invasion of alien species and protect biodiversity. The competent department of agriculture and rural areas in the State Council shall, jointly with other relevant departments in the State Council, formulate a list of alien invasive species and management measures ". In order to effectively strengthen the management of alien invasive species, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, together with the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the General Administration of Customs, systematically sorted out the relevant legislation at home and abroad, conducted in-depth expert discussions and field research, and widely listened to the opinions of relevant departments, industry experts and the public. On this basis, the Measures were studied and formulated.
Q: What is the overall consideration of the Measures for strengthening the whole chain management of alien invasive species and improving the responsibility mechanism?
answerAlien invasive species refer to alien species that have been introduced and colonized and brought threats or harms to ecosystems, habitats and species, and affected the ecological environment in China, damaging the sustainable development and biodiversity of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery. The general consideration of strengthening the management of alien invasive species is to adhere to risk prevention, source control, comprehensive management, coordination and public participation, highlight key areas and key links, establish and improve management systems, strengthen joint prevention and control, group prevention and group treatment, and comprehensively improve the management level of alien invasive species.The first is to strengthen the supervision of the whole chain.The "Measures" stipulate the prevention, monitoring and early warning, treatment and restoration of alien invasive species, further strengthen the prevention and control of alien invasive species from all aspects, and build a full chain prevention and control system.The second is to clarify the division of responsibilities.The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs shall, jointly with relevant departments, establish an inter-ministerial coordination mechanism for the prevention and control of alien invasive species, and the local people’s governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for the prevention and control of alien invasive species in their respective administrative areas according to law, and the relevant departments of the local people’s governments at or above the county level shall carry out prevention and control work according to the division of responsibilities.The third is to guide public participation.Strengthen publicity, education and popularization of science, encourage and guide the public to participate in prevention and control work according to law, and no unit or individual may introduce, release or discard alien species without approval.
Q: What are the specific requirements for source prevention in the Measures?
A: "The Measures put forward clear requirements for strengthening source prevention mainly from three aspects.The first is to standardize the introduction management.Where exotic species such as crops, forest and grass seeds and seedlings, and aquatic products are introduced from abroad due to special needs such as variety cultivation, import approval and quarantine approval shall be handled according to the examination and approval authority. If it is introduced for the first time, the importing unit shall conduct risk analysis and submit a risk assessment report to the examination and approval department.The second is to strengthen port prevention and control.The customs shall strengthen port prevention and control, crack down on illegal activities such as illegal introduction, carrying, delivery and smuggling of alien species, and dispose of the discovered alien invasive species according to law.The third is to strengthen domestic quarantine.The competent departments of agriculture, rural areas, forestry and grassland at or above the county level shall strengthen the quarantine supervision over the trans-regional transportation of crops, forest and grass seeds and seedlings, plant products, aquatic seedlings, etc., so as to prevent the spread of alien invasive species.
Q: How does the Measures stipulate the monitoring and early warning of alien invasive species?
answerIn order to strengthen the monitoring and early warning of alien invasive species and grasp the status of alien invasive species in time, the Measures mainly make three provisions.The first is to carry out investigation and monitoring.Establish a general survey and monitoring system for alien invasive species, organize a national survey every ten years, build a national monitoring network for alien invasive species, and carry out regular monitoring.The second is to issue early warning and forecast.The competent departments of agriculture, rural areas, forestry and grassland at or above the provincial level and the customs shall strengthen the sharing of monitoring information, analyze and judge the occurrence and spread trend of alien invasive species, issue early warning and forecast in time, and guide the prevention and control.The third is to standardize information release.The overall situation of alien invasive species in China is uniformly released by the relevant departments of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. The occurrence of alien invasive species in related fields shall be released by the relevant departments of the State Council according to their duties and powers. Provincial agricultural and rural authorities, in consultation with relevant departments, uniformly release the situation of alien invasive species in their respective administrative areas.
Q: What are the clear provisions of the Measures on the implementation of governance restoration?
A:In order to vigorously promote the management and restoration of alien invasive species, the Measures stipulate that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and National Forestry and Grassland Administration should study and formulate strategies and measures for the prevention and control of alien invasive species according to their division of responsibilities, and all localities should formulate prevention and control plans and implement prevention and control measures in light of actual conditions.Control of alien invasive plants,According to the actual situation, measures such as manual uprooting, mechanical uprooting, spraying green chemicals and releasing natural enemies can be taken in the key growth periods such as seedling stage, flowering stage or fruiting stage.Control of alien invasive pests and diseases,Measures such as selecting pest-resistant varieties, pre-treating seedlings, physical removal, chemical elimination and biological control should be taken to effectively prevent the spread of pests and diseases.Control of alien invasive aquatic animals,Measures such as targeted fishing should be taken to prevent its further spread.Besides,The "Measures" require that measures such as planting native plants and releasing local species should be taken according to local conditions to restore the ecosystem in the area where alien invasive species occur.
Q: The Measures will be implemented on August 1, 2022. How to implement them in the next step?
answerThe Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, together with relevant departments, will earnestly publicize and implement the Measures and strengthen the management of alien invasive species. Focus on three aspects of work.First, do a good job in publicizing and interpreting the Measures.Take a combination of online and offline, organize training for managers at all levels, do a good job in interpreting the provisions of the Measures, and improve the ability of supervision and management according to law. Production and distribution of popular science propaganda materials, to enhance public awareness of prevention and control.The second is to promote the general survey of alien invasive species.In farmland, fishing waters, forests, grasslands, wetlands, major ports of entry and other areas, speed up the implementation of the general survey of alien invasive species, and find out the species, quantity, distribution range and harm degree of alien invasive species in China.The third is to strengthen the management of alien invasive species.Formulate prevention and control guidelines by classification and species, clarify the key periods, key areas and main measures for prevention and control, strengthen policy support and technical guidance for governance, and take comprehensive measures to effectively control alien invasive species.