. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/MEX/190
9 August 2002
(02-4373)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  Spanish
NOTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY MEASURES
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  MEXICO
If applicable, name of local government involved:
2. Agency responsible:  Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where
applicable).  Eucalyptus pests
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable:
5. Title and number of pages of the notified document:  Notice of Extension of Emergency
Mexican Official Standard NOM-EM-002-RECNAT-2002 Establishing Technical
Guidelines for Combatting and Controlling the Eucalyptus Psyllid Glycaspis
brimblecombei, Published on 30 January 2002  (11 pages).
6. Description of content:  This Standard establishes the mandatory technical guidelines for
assessing, combatting and controlling the eucalyptus psyllid affecting eucalyptus trees inurban areas, reforested areas, areas afforested for reasons of conservation, restoration or
commercial production, and federal, state and private nurseries.
7. Objective and rationale:  [     ] food safety,  [     ] animal health,  [  X ] plant protection,
[    ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [  X ] protect territory from
other damage from pests
8. Nature of the urgent problem(s) and reasons for urgent action:  In accordance with the
Forestry Law and its regulations, the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources is
responsible for establishing Mexican Official Standards for preventing, controlling and
combatting forestry pests and diseases.
Furthermore, in accordance with the Federal Plant Health Law, phytosanitary
measures will be applied to combat pests which affect forest resources.
The eucalyptus psyllid causes severe defoliation, death of branches, a reduction in
aesthetic value, an increase in the risk of attack from tunnelling insects and an increase in
the cost of urban woodland maintenance; it also reduces diameter and height, lengthens theharvesting cycle, lowers the commercial value and quality of products, increases production
costs and may therefore become a restrictive factor when establishing commercial
plantations of this type of tree. Since it is an insect of Australian origin, the eucalyptus
psyllid is considered to be subject to quarantine and of high phytosanitary risk to Mexico.
Assessments carried out in areas in the counties of California, USA, where the
psyllid is present have revealed that this pest can cause the death of 15 per cent of
eucalyptus trees in the first year of infestation and around 30 to 40 per cent during thesecond year.G/SPS/N/MEX/190
Page 2
8. Nature of the urgent problem(s) and reasons for urgent action:  (cont'd)
As a result, the spread of the eucalyptus psyllid towards the south-eastern region of
Mexico creates a phytosanitary risk for the 12,000 hectares of commercial eucalyptus
plantations, located mainly in the States of Veracruz and Tabasco, independently of the fact
that, at present, the eucalyptus psyllid mainly affects eucalyptus trees of the Eucaliptus
Camaldulensis  species and those termed as 'red', which are planted in the States of Baja
California, Sonora, Sinaloa, Michoacán, Zacat ecas, Mexico, Aguascalientes, Querétaro, San
Luis Potosí, Jalisco and Mexico City (Federal District), inter alia .
There is therefore a need for phytosanitary measures to control and combat the
eucalyptus psyllid in States with eucalyptus plantations and nurseries.
9. International standard, guideline or recommendation:
[    ] Codex Alimentarius Commission,  [    ] Office International des Epizooties,[    ] International Plant Protection Convention, [ X ] None
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate
reference and briefly identify deviations:
10. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  Diario Oficial de la
Federación  (Official Journal) of 31 July 2002  (available in Spanish).
11. Date of entry into force/period of application (as applicable):  Extended for a period of
six months as of 31 July 2002.
12. Agency or authority designated to handle comments: [ X ] National notification
authority, [    ] National enquiry point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if
available) of other body:
13. Texts available from:  [  X ] National notification authority, [     ] National enquiry point
or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:
Web site:  www.economia.gob.mx/?P=85  (Standards catalogue).