It has been more than a decade since Jamil Salmi, former tertiary education coordinator at the World Bank, published his influential report Constructing Knowledge Societies: New Challenges for Tertiary Education.1 In this report, he discusses the unprecedented challenges facing tertiary education globally, driven by the 'convergence of the impacts of globalization; the increasing importance of knowledge as a principle driver of growth; and the information and communication revolution'1. Since then, these factors have been further intensified by the rise of various global university ranking systems that are increasingly driving the choices of academics, students, industries and governments of where to invest their talents and funds. ; http://www.sajs.co.za ; am2015
South Africa is a country with very limited natural forest cover. Consequently, the timber and fibre needs of the country cannot be provided for from indigenous forest. It is largely for this reason that South Africa initially developed a highly productive plantation forest industry, which today makes a substantial contribution to the local economy. These plantations are based on non-native species of Eucalyptus, Pinus and Australian Acacia. In the early years of establishment, South African plantations were relatively free of pest and pathogen problems. But, over time, an increasing number of insects, fungi and bacteria have emerged as serious threats to the sustainability of the forestry industry. Numerous native pests and pathogens, especially insects, have adapted to these introduced tree species to cause damage or disease. The problem is compounded by the accidental introduction of non-native pests and pathogens, and this has been at a rapidly increasing rate over the past three decades. Some of these introduced pests and pathogens also threaten the fitness and even the survival of many indigenous South African tree species. Fortunately, South Africa has developed an impressive knowledge base and range of integrated management options to deal with these problems. This development was first driven by government programmes, and in more recent years by public–private partnerships between industry, universities and government. It is clear from the pattern of emergence of pests and pathogens in recent years that South Africa will deal with an increasing number of these problems and a continuously changing tree health environment. This requires robust investment in both quarantine and mitigation mechanisms to protect the country's biodiversity as well as to ensure the sustainability of its wood and fibre industries. SIGNIFICANCE : • This review about tree health in South Africa was in part inspired by the 2020 International Year of Plant Health. Plant health, and particularly tree health, is an important topic in ...
The world's forests have never been more threatened by invasions of exotic pests and pathogens, whose causes and impacts are reinforced by global change. However, forest entomologists and pathologists have, for too long, worked independently, used different concepts and proposed specific management methods without recognising parallels and synergies between their respective fields. Instead, we advocate increased collaboration between these two scientific communities to improve the long-term health of forests. Our arguments are that the pathways of entry of exotic pests and pathogens are often the same and that insects and fungi often coexist in the same affected trees. Innovative methods for preventing invasions, early detection and identification of non-native species, modelling of their impact and spread and prevention of damage by increasing the resistance of ecosystems can be shared for the management of both pests and diseases. We, therefore, make recommendations to foster this convergence, proposing in particular the development of interdisciplinary research programmes, the development of generic tools or methods for pest and pathogen management and capacity building for the education and training of students, managers, decision-makers and citizens concerned with forest health. ; The European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme ; http://neobiota.pensoft.net ; am2021 ; Biochemistry ; Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) ; Genetics ; Microbiology and Plant Pathology
