Shania Shayal Prasad 
Acting Executive Director of Operation Services at the Ministry of Forestry, George Vuki has emphasized on the absence of training and capacity building in forest health and biosecurity in the Pacific, including Fiji.
He highlighted this during a three-day Regional Forestry Biosecurity Training Workshop held in Suva last week, where biosecurity and forestry officials from 12 Pacific island nations gathered to tap into technical expertise in this domain.
Vuki adds risks posed by new invasive forest pests and diseases in Fiji and other neighbouring countries have increased since the last research and training efforts in the 2000s.
Australia-based Associate Professor in Forest Health Simon Lawson says talks are underway to possibly set up a network.
Participants were also trained to identify symptoms and signs of tree pests and diseases and forest health surveillance techniques.
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