INVESTIGADORES
COULLERI Juan Pablo
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Regulations for access to genetic resources and exportation of weed biocontrol agents in Argentina
Autor/es:
FERNANDO MC KAY; ALEJANDRO SOSA; GUILLERMO CABRERA WALSH; FREDA ANDERSON; JUAN PABLO COULLERI; CELESTE FRANCESCHINI; GERMÁN BARROS; SOLEDAD VILLAMIL
Lugar:
Engelberg
Reunión:
Simposio; XV International Symposium on Biological Control of Weed; 2018
Institución organizadora:
International Organisation for Biological and Integrated Control
Resumen:
During the last hundred years, plants from Argentina (e.g. water hyacinth and alligator weed) havebeen accidentally or deliberately transported to other countries where they became invasive weeds.In 1962, the Agriculture Research Service (ARS) of the United States Department of Agricultureestablished the South American Biological Control Laboratory (SABCL) in Argentina to search andevaluate water weed biocontrol agents. For 50 years, the SABCL contributed to the search and studyof 250 natural enemies to control 44 pests in the USA, Africa, Australasia and Europe. In 2003, amore demanding regulatory frame derived from the Convention on Biological Diversity wasimplemented in Argentina. In 2009, the issuing of exportation permits by the Ministry ofEnvironment and Sustainable Development was interrupted, affecting the SABCL?s mission. Toresume operations, in 2011, the Argentine government and the ARS negotiated the transformationof the SABCL into the FuEDEI, Fundación para el Estudio de Especies Invasivas. Between 2012 and2015, FuEDEI exported 14 natural enemies to the USA, Australia, South Africa and Europe. As of2015, export permits from most Argentine provincial authorities became very hard to obtain. Tocontinue with the exportation of beneficial organisms, FuEDEI acted as liaison to obtain permits fromthe regulatory agencies of Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay. At present, there are a few institutions inArgentina conducting weed biocontrol research projects in collaboration with researchers in the USA,New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Europe. These institutions have joined forces to organizeweed biocontrol courses, workshops, on‐line surveys, and submitting weed biocontrol grantproposals to Argentine government funding agencies. We expect these initiatives to raise publicvisibility of weed biocontrol, revert the ban on organism exchange between Argentina and othercountries, and promote research opportunities in Argentina.