Tree growers, politicians, scientists and landowners were meeting this week to discuss a strategy to control ash dieback; the deadly fungal disease which is threatening to kill 80 million ash trees across Britain.
The Government is expected to report at the summit that more cases have been identified in woodlands and nurseries following inspections by the Forestry Commission and cases highlighted by the public. Earlier this week, several new cases were identified across Britain, and in particular seven sites in Scotland, suggesting the disease has arrived on spores blown in from the continent and on nursery stock.
So far, 115 cases of the Chalara fraxinea fungus have been confirmed in laboratories but a photographic mapping exercise by the University of East Anglia suggests trees have been afflicted by the disease in many other areas.
Environment secretary, Owen Paterson said he would chair a second meeting of the national emergency committee Cobra. He commented, "We are going to have to completely change our attitude to forestry and the environment." However, he stated that options to act were limited by world trade rules, which regarded trees as commodities and prevented bans being easily imposed on imports. Possible proposals include increased funding for plant disease experts, the stepping up of surveillance at ports of entry and a Europe-wide "plant passport" system, to trace the origins of all plants coming into Britain.
More than 100,000 trees have now being felled to prevent the disease spreading, with over 1,500 inspections made to identify how far it might have spread.
