Reinvigorating the Use of Biocontrol for Weeds in the Pacific

Abstract

Invasive weeds are a serious concern for all Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs), threatening native biodiversity and ecosystem services, and impacting on health, wellbeing, and food security. Most PICTs lack the necessary resources to effectively control weed invasions, and management challenges will be exacerbated in coming decades as unwanted species continue to invade, and climate change intensifies the harmful impacts of weeds. Some Pacific countries, such as Fiji, were early adopters of the use of biocontrol to help manage weeds. Between 1911 and 2015, 16 PICTs released 62 biocontrol agents against 21 weed species. Despite many notable successes, most weed biocontrol activity in PICTs fell away after the 1990s. Responding to the urgent need for more on the ground action against invasive species, the Pacific Regional Invasive Species Management Support Service (PRISMSS) was formed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in 2019. Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, now the Bioeconomy Science Institute, was invited by SPREP to lead a Natural Enemies - Natural Solutions (NENS) programme for invasive weeds under the PRISMSS. For more than a decade the Department of Primary Industries in Queensland, Australia, has assisted New Zealand researchers with the goal of reviving the forgotten tool of weed biocontrol in the Pacific, most recently as part of the NENS programme. This presentation will demonstrate how the ANZAC spirit is helping to beat invasive weeds in the Cook Islands, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. We will share highlights, challenges, key lessons learnt and potential opportunities to build on this work to support our Pacific neighbours and other developing countries.