Pest monitoring: Assisting regional councils to develop pest monitoring programmes under the Biosecurity Act 1993

Abstract

This report is constructed in partial fulfilment of the MSc in Resource Management at Lincoln University. The purpose of the report is providing assistance to Canterbury Regional Council in the development of a practical, integrated approach to monitoring pests and pest management.

The Biosecurity Act has only been in place for four years. This time has in effect been a trail and error period both for the Act and for regional councils as they develop pest management strategies. This newness may be the ultimate reason behind the issues that have arisen with councils implementing monitoring programmes. The key issues that are identified in this report are therefore the key issues with which Canterbury Regional Council is currently grappling. These key issues are: 1. There is currently no overarching definition of monitoring for councils to adhere to. 2. That the systems of liaison and coordination need to be strengthened both regionally and locally

This report separates the quality control and compliance monitoring components of pest management in order to develop a definition of pest management that is focussed on the biophysical pest monitoring. The definition developed for this report is: Pest monitoring is the systematic observation of parameters related to pest species and their environment, in order to determine the effects of pest management strategies and the impacts of pests on the wider environment. Six parameters for pest control are also given, including that a comprehensive pest monitoring programme should include monitoring for the occurrence or non-occurrence of a pest in a region. What needs to occur in conjunction with the development of monitoring protocol, is a strengthening of links between pest management and other departments within the Council and agencies outside. While there are a number of vested interests in monitoring, there are only a few who can directly assist councils in strengthening pest monitoring.