Groundbreaking EPA Decision On Exotic Plant Imports

New Zealand Plant Producers Inc (NZPPI) has received the extremely welcome news that its EPA application to import and release 12 houseplant species across seven tropical plant genera without controls has been approved.

NZPPI CE Matthew Dolan said this was the first approval of its type and is a huge win for New Zealand’s greenlife sector.

The approved house plant species are: Alocasia micholitziana, Anthurium clarinervium, Anthurium veitchii, Goeppertia bella, Goeppertia orbifolia, Macodes petola, Peperomia albovittata, Peperomia pecuniifolia, Peperomia quadrangularis, Peperomia rotundifolia, Pilea peperomioides and Plumeria pudica.

Nine of the 12 species are already present in New Zealand but were left off the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (HZNO) 'present in New Zealand list' when it came into force 24 years ago.

NZPPI Biosecurity and Technical Manager Kathryn Hurr has been working on the application for the past two years, ensuring it was based on technical information and each plant species had gone through a thorough risk assessment and application process. The application went out for public consultation in September last year and was considered at a virtual EPA hearing on February 1st.

"Firstly we wanted to set the record straight regarding the nine species already in New Zealand. Secondly, in response to NZPPI member requests, we sought approval for the three species not yet here to help create opportunities to import new exotic plant species in a safe and robust way,” Matthew said.

"As we said in the EPA hearing, internationally there has been a focus on the importance of greenlife, historically considered as frivolous, with a real shift and trend towards a more professional and valued sector in the greenlife space.”

At the hearing, Ministry for Primary Industries said it had no apparent cause for concern or objection to the application. It noted that it was time consuming for MPI to deal with enquiries about high-interest plants such as these, which have ambiguous legislation settings but are potentially of lower risk than other species.

This EPA decision to release these 12 species does not mean they are now automatically eligible for import however. Each species will need to be assessed under the Biosecurity Act and have an import health standard in place before they can be imported.

Matthew said the next steps from NZPPI will be to make a request to MPI to develop those import health standards.

"We also want to share our learnings from this process with the EPA and Ministry for the Environment, who have responsibility for the HSNO Act, and advocate for improvements to this part of the import system. It’s very expensive and lengthy and it’s hampering innovation in our plant primary industries.

"We've learned a lot going through this process and we hope that it sets a precedent for more applications for non-invasive, new plant species in future."

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