Determining the relative sensitivity and contribution of criteria in prioritising plant pests along the biosecurity continuum

Project ID: 1502D
CEBRA Project Leader: Susan Hester
DA Sponsor: Sally Troy
DA Project Leader: Ranjith Subasinghe, Susie Collins
DA Division: Biosecurity Plant
MPI Project Manager: N/A
Collaborators: N/A

More than five hundred plant pests are classified by Australian plant industries as priority pests.  Efficiently allocating increasingly scarce surveillance resources to managing such a  large number of pests presents a significant challenge for the Australian government because no national framework or mechanism currently exists for prioritisation or for guiding government investment in their management.  This project is designed to address the prioritisation of plant pests for surveillance in Australia.

Pest prioritisation required the careful integration of information on the likelihood of pest entry, establishment and spread, an estimation of the impact associated with the pest if established, and capacity to detect and eradicate the pest.  this information can be presented as 'criteria' which can then be weighted based on relative importance.  This project will review and assess methods for prioritisation in invasive species and environmental management that have been recommended or used elsewhere; identify the approach best suited to the Australian plant-pest prioritisation context; and develop a plan for identifying the most effective way of rolling out the assessment process in Australia.  Outputs from this project will assist in the future development of a computer-based mathematical model that will clarify the ranking of high priority plant pests based on priority criteria and pest-specific information.

Final Report - 1502D

Research program

Spatial Analysis

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