The Global Forest Health Crisis: A Public-Good Social Dilemma in Need of International Collective Action.

Geoffrey M Williams, Matthew D Ginzel, Zhao Ma, Damian C Adams, Faith Campbell, Gary M Lovett, María Belén Pildain, Kenneth F Raffa, Kamal J K Gandhi, Alberto Santini, Richard A Sniezko, Michael J Wingfield, Pierluigi Bonello

Journal: Annual review of phytopathology 2023;61():377-401

PMID: 37253697

Abstract

Society is confronted by interconnected threats to ecological sustainability. Among these is the devastation of forests by destructive non-native pathogens and insects introduced through global trade, leading to the loss of critical ecosystem services and a global forest health crisis. We argue that the forest health crisis is a public-good social dilemma and propose a response framework that incorporates principles of collective action. This framework enables scientists to better engage policymakers and empowers the public to advocate for proactive biosecurity and forest health management. Collective action in forest health features broadly inclusive stakeholder engagement to build trust and set goals; accountability for destructive pest introductions; pooled support for weakest-link partners; and inclusion of intrinsic and nonmarket values of forest ecosystems in risk assessment. We provide short-term and longer-term measures that incorporate the above principles to shift the societal and ecological forest health paradigm to a more resilient state.

Address: International Programs, US Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture, Lansing, Michigan, USA; email: [email protected].; Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.; Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.; Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.; Center for Invasive Species Prevention, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.; Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, New York, USA.; Centro de Investigación y Extensión Forestal Andino Patagónico, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Esquel, Chubut, Argentina.; Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.; D. B. Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.; Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, National Research Council, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy.; Dorena Genetic Resource Center, US Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture, Cottage Grove, Oregon, USA.; Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria, South Africa.; Department of Plant Pathology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA; email: [email protected].

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