Biosecurity for New Zealand's forage production systems

Abstract

At a time of increasing and changing trade and tourism, biosecurity is becoming a major issue. New Zealand's pastoral ecosystems are uniquely vulnerable to invading pests and weeds and, in many regions, pastures are being used more intensively than ever. This in turn is making pest impacts more severe. Other factors causing increasing concern about biosecurity include climate change and public concern about existing pest management strategies. Weed problems are increasing in some marginal areas where there has been destocking. This contribution further discusses the need for contingency planning for biosecurity threats, particularly with reference to keeping weed and pest organisms out of this country at the border. In relation to this, funding issues for research are discussed and with this, the need for the government and sectors to clearly delineate areas of responsibility. This raises issues about the shortcomings of simplistic userpays models and the ongoing conundrum of whether and how the perpetrators and/or the 'beneficiaries' of pest management research should pay after biosecurity failure. Keywords: biosecurity, border control, eradication, funding, pests, pest management