2020 is the year of plant health

Plants are an important source of the air we breathe and most of the food we eat. And yet too often their importance is ignored. According to an estimate by the "Food and Agriculture Organization" (FAO) every year about 40% of food plants are damaged by diseases and pests

The United Nations has declared 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health. The relationships between animals and plants are complex and complicated, they also need each other and close relationships with fungi, bacteria, micro-organisms and other soil dwellers that contribute to soil health. Animals that eat the fruits of a tree secrete the seeds and thus help the spread of plants, for example the nightingales that eat the hernog fruit.
On the other hand, there are seeds that will only germinate if they have passed through the stomach of animals. So, for example, are the seeds of the date palm that need the environment of the elephants' stomachs, so are acorns that have been forgotten after being buried in the ground by squirrels and, above all, pollination by insects, birds and small mammals that allow plants to reproduce.
In contrast to this, there are negative factors such as diseases and pests that, in combination with climate change, contribute to serious damage to plants.

Plants are an important source of the air we breathe and most of the food we eat. And yet too often their importance is ignored. According to the assessment of "Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Every year about 40% of food plants are damaged by diseases and pests.

A serious situation that leaves millions of people without enough food, since the main source of income and food for rural populations in large areas is local agriculture. This is the main reason for the UN declaration of 2020 as the year of plant health the international According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP): "Climate change in combination with human activity has severely damaged the environmental systems and biodiversity, which has opened possibilities and niches for pests that thrive and threaten the health of plants."

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, in the last decade the movement of passengers, travelers and international trade has increased threefold, a movement that causes the spread of diseases and pests around the world and causes fatal damage to native plants and the natural environment.
For example, a nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) that was first discovered in Louisiana (USA) has spread throughout the world. The nematode that causes pine wilt, which destroyed large areas of forest in America and Asia, arrived in Portugal (in 1999), and to prevent its spread in Europe, a separation area of ​​about 20 kilometers was established along the Portugal-Spain border.

Protecting plants from diseases and pests is effective and much cheaper than treating the affected areas, since the eradication of the hazard is often expensive and difficult and often turns out to be impossible. Therefore, there is an essential need for measures to prevent the pest from reaching the fields.

As in other issues, here too many can contribute to the prevention of harm to ensure food security. For this purpose there is an initiative of Integrated pest management according to which they combine policies for environmental management and methods for growing a healthy crop while minimizing the use of insecticides and pests. When dealing with pests, avoiding the use of toxic substances contributes to preventing harm to pollinators and the natural enemies of the pests, and also adds benefit to the people and animals that need the plants.

There is more in the world Of the 820 million people who live undernourishedAnd the number is growing.

Policy and activity to promote plant health is essential to reach the "sustainable development goal 1 and 2" which is the eradication of poverty and hunger.
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

So much for the need for general, global, international activity, but there is also room for individual activity.
What can be done on a personal level? Care must be taken when moving plants across borders. Those involved in the trade in plants and plant products must follow the guidelines and regulations of the plant protection associations. There is a need for more professionals in the field who will invest in capabilities and developments that will increase the health of the plants, and there is also a need to strengthen the warning and monitoring systems to protect the plants and their health.

Here:
There are invasive or invasive species that are harmful to the natural environment such as cats and dogs that have gone wild and I have already referred to them before. To them are added species of insects and diseases that cause a lot of damage. There is a plant protection monitoring system, there are regulations and supervision, but despite this there is an intrusion of pests that could have been prevented by proper activity and detection by the authorities which is their role and also by responsible personal behavior while understanding the risk.
One of the alarming and irritating examples is the invasion of the fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata) which arrived in Israel about ten years ago and has since spread to large areas. There is cause for concern because of the severe damage the ant causes to plants, animals and agriculture and the severe pain caused to anyone who is stung. This intrusion is irritating because effective monitoring could have prevented its arrival in Israel and effective action in time could have prevented its spread.
Since the ant is spread with plants, the negligence of the ministries of environment and agriculture contributed to its wide distribution in Israel, but even here the damage can be stopped or at least mitigated by the personally responsible activity of everyone who grows, purchases, sells and trades plants. In the days when the pests manage to spread thanks to the climate conditions and human activity, the reality requires professional activity of the responsible bodies combined with personal awareness to protect the vegetation.