Authorities mull measures to check invasive alien species

[webfact]

Authorities mull measures to check invasive alien species

By Pratch Rujivanarom 
The Nation

 

 

A meeting to draft measures to contain and prevent invasion by alien species was held at the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry on Thursday after a new invasive worm from New Guinea was reported across the country.

 

Natural Resources and Environment Ministry spokesman Pralong Dumrongthai said the ministry would arrange a meeting with the Agriculture Department and other related agencies to tackle the invasion by alien species.

 

“The ministry held discussions with the Agriculture Department on Tuesday to determine what we can do to address the problem of invasive alien species in our ecosystem and we have to wait for the conclusions of the meeting to come up with more concrete measures,” Pralong said.

 

He admitted that the authorities did not have any agency or committee to address the specific problem of invasive alien species, hence all related agencies will have to band together to integrate each organisation’s ability to tackle this new issue.

 

“We have a committee for conserving and using national biodiversity, which is under the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning, but this committee’s task is only policy planning. We may have to set up another working group to mitigate the spread of alien species,” he noted.

 

Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry spokesman Sorawit Thaneto pointed out that while the official measures to contain and prevent invasive alien species were yet to be determined, the ministry assured that the current strict regulations on the movement of animals and plants in and out of the country were enough to prevent the future spread of alien species in Thailand.

 

“There is already very tight control on the import and export of animals and plants and it is very hard for alien species to be brought into the country through official ports of entry. We have a list of species that are prohibited from entry into the country” Sorawit explained.

 

“At the same time, we have noticed many kinds of alien species being introduced through uncontrolled informal entry points.”

 

He said related agencies within his ministry will have to wait for official instructions from the joint working group, which is going to be set up, on how to control invasion by alien species.

 

Authorities stepped up urgent efforts to mitigate the spread of invasive alien species after the public panicked on finding the New Guinea flatworm, which is on the list of 100 of the world’s worst invasive alien species and could be harmful to endemic species of snails.

 

The worms have been found and reported from various areas across the country since early November.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30331738

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-11-16

[Misterwhisper]

16 minutes ago, webfact said:

Authorities mull measures to check invasive alien species

Is the current crackdown on foreigners across the country part of these "measures"? I mean, they ARE an invasive alien species, too, if the nationalistic ramblings of some locals are to be believed.

[YetAnother]

31 minutes ago, webfact said:

A meeting to draft measures to contain and prevent invasion by alien species

years ago, under 'thailand',wikipedia classified all non-thais, lumped together, as 'aliens'

[seajae]

if these alien species are edible they wont have to worry too much, I am amazed at what some thais will eat

 

[jonclark]

Tighten up visa requirements i reckon. 

[phantomfiddler]

2 hours ago, seajae said:

if these alien species are edible they wont have to worry too much, I am amazed at what some thais will eat

 

But for some strange reason they don,t do everyone a big favor and eat pigeons

[Moti24]

"Authorities mull measures to check invasive alien species"

 

I always thought an alien species was something from outer-space!  How times change!  It seems I've been living with them all the time!  E.T. Must be around somewhere!

 

Typical Thailand, though; anything outside is alien.  No wonder most Thai school students don't know where Europe is!

[Pawpcorn]

I'm SURE all the fancy-named government groups and agencies will do a SPLENDID job, coordinating their efforts, researching ALL the technical details, consulting with suitable Alien-cultured Specialists... all leading to swift and effective action!!!

 

...Right after the next smoke break, followed by checking out the latest stupid animal tricks videos on YouTube, while messaging and sending money to their mia noi, that is...!!!

Edited November 16, 2017 by Pawpcorn
stupid typo, lol

[BuaBS]

Invasive alien species !

I clicked on that expecting :

[wirat69]

7 minutes ago, Moti24 said:

Typical Thailand, though; anything outside is alien. 

 

Same for any country...... why pick on the Thais??

 

1 [more alien; most alien] : not familiar or like other things you have known : different from what you are used to

• She felt lost in an alien [=strange] culture when she moved to the city.
• an alien environment
• Honesty seems to be an alien concept in that family. [=people in that family are not honest]

— often + to

• The whole idea of having a job was alien [=unfamiliar, foreign] to him.

2 : from another country : foreign

• alien residents

3 [more alien; most alien] : too different from something to be acceptable or suitable — + to

• Such behavior is totally alien to the spirit of the religion.
• ideas alien to [=incompatible with] democracy

4: from somewhere other than the planet Earth

• an alien spaceship
• The movie is a story about an attack on Earth by an army of alien [=extraterrestrial] monsters.

[SoulWater]

It's too late it has already happened I walked down walking street last week and there are many different species already with us

Sent from my SM-J710F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Moti24]

1 hour ago, wirat69 said:

 

Same for any country...... why pick on the Thais??

When teaching at a Thai school, I asked if I could borrow a globe to be used in a lesson; I was given a globe that was completely blacked-out, except Thailand!

 

Does that answer your question?

[CantSpell]

If I was the invasive alien species, I would really not worry, they are mulling again... 

[amdy2206]

I thought they were talking about farangs? We seem to be an invasive alien specied.

[Jonmarleesco]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

He admitted that the authorities did not have any agency or committee to address the specific problem of invasive alien species

Get the PM to S44 something, then. He could request input from immigration.

[PAIBKK]

8 hours ago, wirat69 said:

 

Same for any country...... why pick on the Thais??

 

1 [more alien; most alien] : not familiar or like other things you have known : different from what you are used to

• She felt lost in an alien [=strange] culture when she moved to the city.
• an alien environment
• Honesty seems to be an alien concept in that family. [=people in that family are not honest]

— often + to

• The whole idea of having a job was alien [=unfamiliar, foreign] to him.

2 : from another country : foreign

• alien residents

3 [more alien; most alien] : too different from something to be acceptable or suitable — + to

• Such behavior is totally alien to the spirit of the religion.
• ideas alien to [=incompatible with] democracy

4: from somewhere other than the planet Earth

• an alien spaceship
• The movie is a story about an attack on Earth by an army of alien [=extraterrestrial] monsters.

ALF !

[webfact]

Alarm sounded over New Guinea flatworm invasion – seven years after alien species first discovered

By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM 
THE NATION

 

 

AUTHORITIES HAVE acknowledged the spread of the New Guinea flatworm in Thailand, adding the species to the Tier 1 list of invasive alien species and announcing a joint operation involving eight agencies to cope with its spread – seven years after it was first detected.

 

New Guinea flatworms have been reported in 27 provinces across the country since October 31, prompting the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry to arrange a meeting to discuss the problem.

 

Measures agreed at the meeting included DNA verification to confirm the discovery of the species, gathering information on its spreading range, examining its potential to transmit diseases to people, preventing the worm from invading ecologically fragile areas and other countries, and educating people about the worm.

 

Natural Resources and Environment Ministry permanent secretary Wijarn Simachaya said the Biodiversity Division of the Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning Office, which handles invasive alien species, will include the flatworm on the Tier 1 list of alien species to limit damage to the ecosystem.

 

The Tier 1 list designates harmful invasive alien species that have been reported in Thailand and should be contained and eliminated, including 138 species of micro-organisms, plants and animals in the latest update.

 

Wijarn said listing the species would constitute an official acknowledgement of the threat under a 2009 Cabinet resolution, after which a working group will specify measures to prevent the spread and eliminate the alien species.

 

He added that the Royal Forest Department and National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department had been assigned to prevent the species from spreading into forest areas.

 

However, he said DNA tests were needed, with the support of the Thailand Research Fund, despite plentiful evidence indicating New Guinea flatworms are present in the country.

 

He also urged people to monitor moist areas in their gardens, the preferred habitat of the flatworm, and alert authorities via Line if the species is detected to help limit its range. “People do not have to fear diseases transmitted by this worm as long as they wash their hands and vegetables and eat cooked food,” Wijarn said.

 

However, leading biodiversity expert Nonn Panitvong warned that the flatworm species was a top predator of land slugs and snails, posing a major threat to endemic species. The invader was also easily spread by transporting soil, he added.

 

Nonn said the official efforts to control the flatworm’s spread was a move in the right direction based on scientific data about the species, but added that|agencies had to work in close cooperation because the species had already colonised areas of the country beyond containment capacity.

 

The first evidence of the flatworm in the country came in 2010 in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district, Nonn said, while researchers specialising in the species had confirmed that it originated in New Guinea and there was not an indigenous subspecies in Thailand.

 

New Guinea flatworm invasions have been documented in 22 countries, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature listing it one of the top 100 worst invasive species.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30331804

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-11-17

[phantomfiddler]

Just inform the public that they taste fantastic fried up with a bit of garlic :)

[BuaBS]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

“People do not have to fear diseases transmitted by this worm as long as they wash their hands and vegetables and eat cooked food,” Wijarn said.

In an other article it said that you shouldn't touch them , yet the pic ^^ ...

What do they do in New Guinea about it ? Do they have predators there ?

[waighty]

19 hours ago, Moti24 said:

"Authorities mull measures to check invasive alien species"

 

I always thought an alien species was something from outer-space!  How times change!  It seems I've been living with them all the time!  E.T. Must be around somewhere!

 

Typical Thailand, though; anything outside is alien.  No wonder most Thai school students don't know where Europe is!

The word alien has been used ever since I can remember to describe illegal foreigners

[chilli42]

Round them up and deport them.  

[chilli42]

Mull, ruminate, consider etc these are all seen as action verbs by the authorities here.

[PeCeDe]

The name worm invokes thoughts of slow moving creatures, if this guy is the same I've seen, the blighters can move like greased lightning. Startled the heck out of me.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[PAIBKK]

In Isan they're wondering if it can be eaten !!!

 

New variations on Isan food: Tom Yam flat worm, Som Tam flat worm, Roasted flatworm, BBQ-ed flatworm, deep fried flatworm, cooked flatworm, raw flatworm, ....