Overview
Sites registered for trade must be located in areas where pest populations are naturally low because of unfavourable habitat conditions.
- Examples include only approving and registering sites for trade if they are located above a certain elevation or latitude where it is too cold for the pest to survive.
- Evaluating the efficacy of this measure requires evidence that pest levels are sufficiently and consistently low in the designated area or site.
- Poor pest habitat may be considered when conducting a pest risk assessment. It may also be used as a risk management option if exports are only approved from areas/sites where pest abundance is naturally low.
- Assurance can be achieved through labelling requirements that allow trace back, and by audit of monitoring records of variables that contribute to poor pest habitat if necessary.
Evidence to support efficacy
Comparative surveillance data can be used to provide confidence that the habitat is poor in the designated area, and therefore that exposure to the pest is low. Knowledge of the biology of the pest relative to the environmental characteristics of the area may be used to support the survey data. This is often formalised through modelling (e.g. phenological modelling to show generations per year). Combining the two can provide confidence that the habitat will be poor (and pest prevalence levels low) despite variation between years in environmental conditions. The relationship between low pest levels and infestation risk also needs to be determined. Changing risk profiles, for example through change in host distributions or climate, also need to be considered.
Applying the measure
How it is used
The relative abundance of the pest in the production region may be considered when conducting a pest risk assessment, especially where trade-related activities only occur in poor habitat. Habitat characteristics worth considering include climate or microclimate, production conditions (e.g. the substrate/material that the commodity is grown in), natural geographic barriers like mountain ranges, the availability of alternative hosts in the area, and the presence of natural enemies. It can also be proposed as a phytosanitary measure to reduce risks by limiting registration of sites to areas of poor pest habitat.
Use with other measures
Poor pest habitat is often combined with limited seasonal overlap, Low Pest Prevalence Sites or Pest Free Site measures. There may be less requirement for other measures such as pest management in areas where the habitat is poor for the pest.
Similar measures
This measure is similar to an Area of Low Pest Prevalence (ALPP) measure as an ALPP may also be implemented where the habitat is unfavourable for the target pest. However, an ALPP measure will also require surveillance and monitoring, with correction actions and suspensions if agreed low pest prevalence thresholds are exceeded.
Poor pest habitat differs from a Pest Free Area (PFA) because there are no claims that the pest is absent from the area.
Assurance of correct implementation
For assurance, consignments must be labelled with the official registration of the production site to allow trace back and ensure that the commodity was produced only in the designated area. Assurance may also require identifying the key environmental variables contributing to poor pest habitat conditions (e.g. temperature) and establishing methodologies and records for monitoring these. In some cases, environmental triggers for corrective actions or suspensions (e.g., maximum temperature thresholds) may also need to be defined. These records and labels may be audited by authorised personnel, with oversight by the NPPO or relevant authority of the exporting jurisdiction.