Gyeonggi Province Conducts Customized Pest Control Consulting for Pine Wilt Disease in Heavily Affected Gapyeong and Pocheon

Gyeonggi Province Allocates 14 Billion Won

to Fully Combat Pine Wilt Disease

Large-Scale Control Strategy to Be Established Within the Year

Gyeonggi Province held a customized pest control consulting meeting on the 9th at the provincial office with the Korea Forest Service and private experts to prevent the spread of pine wilt disease, focusing on the most affected areas of Gapyeong County and Pocheon City. During the meeting, participants discussed the rapid removal of dead trees and pest control strategies for these two regions.

On the 9th, Gyeonggi Province held a customized pest control consulting meeting at the provincial office with the Korea Forest Service and private experts to prevent the spread of pine wilt disease, targeting the most affected areas of Gapyeong County and Pocheon City. Provided by Gyeonggi Province

Pine wilt nematode, native to North America, is an extremely small nematode measuring about 1 mm in length. It invades the interior of trees, completely blocking the pathways for water transport and causing rapid tree death. Often referred to as the "incurable disease of pine trees," there is no cure once a tree is infected, and it inevitably withers and dies. Due to factors such as recent climate change, activity of the vector insects has intensified, leading to an increase in the number of infected cities and counties from 18 in 2022 to 22 last year. Unless infected trees are identified and quickly removed in advance, the surrounding forests can suffer devastating chain damage, completely destroying large areas.

Gyeonggi Province has already allocated a total budget of 14 billion won to implement customized pest control measures in each city and county. The 22 infected cities and counties in the province have been classified by the degree of damage into severely affected areas (5 cities and counties), general areas (11 cities and counties), and areas targeted for transition to clean status (6 cities and counties). According to the conditions of each region, different measures are applied, such as tree species replacement and preventive tree injections, to prevent further spread. However, from the second half of last year to April 7 this year, 20% of all dead trees in Gyeonggi Province were concentrated in just two locations: 5,246 in Gapyeong and 3,237 in Pocheon.

The province is working in line with the national pest control strategy of the Korea Forest Service and plans to establish its own large-scale control strategy for Gyeonggi Province within the year. The new plan will detail annual blueprints, including pest control strategies tailored to the damage status of each city and county, management methods for national front-line zones (the foremost defense lines established to prevent further spread of pests and diseases), and the designation and protection of important pine forests. In particular, to overcome the limitations of an administration-led approach, the province plans to establish a "Pine Wilt Disease Control Governance" body that brings together forest owners, local residents, and experts. This will broaden the consensus so that Gyeonggi residents themselves become both guardians and active participants in pest control to protect their forests.

Kim Ilgon, Director of Forest and Greenery at Gyeonggi Province, said, "We expect that field-oriented customized technical support will dramatically improve the quality of pest control and the response capabilities of city and county officials," and added, "We will do our utmost to halt the spread of pine wilt disease, which has a 100% fatality rate, and to protect the valuable forest resources of the province."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.