News Stories
Biocontrol strategy for invasive species
by Annastasia Kawi (06/01/10)
The biological control of invasive species in the Pacific was the agenda of a strategic workshop held in New Zealand recently. Plant protection experts and quarantine specialists from the Pacific and international community were taken to task to address issues of adopting biological control or biocontrol as a tool to fight invasive pests and weeds in agriculture, forestry and important ecosystems in the region.
‘The Regional Biocontrol Strategy Development Workshop’ was held at Auckland from November 16-18 2009. Participating countries included American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Marianas, Palau, PNG, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu. PNG was represented by Kaile Korowi, an Entomologist with Ramu Agri-Industries; Tony Gunua, a Senior Plant Pathologist with the National Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection Authority and Annastasia Kawi, a NARI Scientist.
The main purpose of the workshop was to bring key players together to see whether biocontrol of widespread invasive species could be undertaken in a more co-operative and collaborative way in the Pacific, and to develop a regional strategy that would allow this to happen.
Issues addressed included: review of biocontrol activities in the Pacific, identification of capacity gaps and barriers in using biocontrol to manage invasive weeds, identification of opportunities and actions to increase biocontrol work in the Pacific, discussion on criteria for selecting priority species for biocontrol, identification of actions and mechanisms to increase the understanding and acceptance of the use of biocontrol as a management tool, identification of potential funding sources for biocontrol projects, and the creation of a steering group to assist in the implementation of a regional strategic plan.
The participants were told that a significant number of successful projects on invasive species using biocontrol already exists in the Pacific region with scope for more. However, given the financial, legislative and logistical constraints faced by each Pacific Island Country and Territory (PIC&T), there is an urgent need is develop a strategy that could allow PIC&Ts to share expertise, experiences and resources. Emphasis was also placed on each PIC&T to prioritise their invasive species, both plant and animal pests, for biological control. With priority lists, countries with commonalities can work together to help minimise expenses of often expensive invasive species management projects. The workshop concluded that the PIC&Ts can share more information between agriculture, forestry and biodiversity conservation groups to better address biocontrol work, as well as looking at strategies implemented in other regions in the use of biocontrol agents to fight invasive plants and pests.
The workshop was funded by United States Department of State, Hawaii Invasive Species Council, Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, New Zealand AID, Pacific Invasives Learning Network, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, Pacific Invasive Initiative based at Auckland University, Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s Land Resources Division, Landcare Research New Zealand and United States Forest Services in Hawaii.