Recommendations
We believe that Regional Councils are performing well in their efforts to detect new weeds and to eradicate or limit the spread of those that could become more serious problems. However, we also consider that the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry should take a stronger role in promoting, to farmers and others, the potential dangers of new weed species and should also play a more active part in advising Regional Councils on weed strategies relevant to the agricultural economy. We particularly stress the following areas:
Border control must be improved and steps taken to discourage both smuggling and accidental importation of plant propagules.
Early detection and eradication of new potential problem weeds must be improved, especially in pastoral and other agricultural systems. Most Regional Councils are active in this area, but fewer biosecurity officers and fewer people on the land and servicing rural communities make early detection more difficult. Farmers and contractors should be encouraged to form networks responsible for identifying such plants. Rural schools could help with the effort - this would increase children's awareness of the importance of weeds, and they could serve as ears and eyes for potential problems. Regional Council Biosecurity Officers could continue to act as foci for co-ordinating the information.
A weed awareness campaign should be introduced to help educate the public to the problems that weeds can cause. An enhanced and better publicised identification service, education on the dangers of some weed species, and advice on eradication would help.
National co-ordination of information on the occurrence, spread and control of potential problem weeds should be introduced for the benefit of Regional Councils. This could be handled by a small committee drawing on expertise on the biology and control of invasive plants. This group could advise regional councils on pest plants to be included in plant pest strategies, co-ordinate research efforts, and advise on research priorities.
Weed risk assessments were used by MAF and have been used by most regional councils in the preparation of their plant pest management strategies. Techniques for such assessments must continue to be improved.
Research
AgResearch should be encouraged to link with Landcare and DOC to continue developing weed risk assessments, incorporating the impacts of climate change, for weeds thought to cause risks, including those identified in this report.
| In this document the terms ‘plant pest’ and ‘pest plant’ are used, both offering some advantages over the more commonly used expression ‘weed’. We prefer ‘pest plant’ to ‘plant pest’, but the latter term is used by Regional Councils and Unitary Authorities. |
Contact for Enquiries
MAF Information Services
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526
Wellington, NEW ZEALAND
Fax: +64 4 894 0721
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