Technology transfer in NZ
Releasing a tradescantia biocontrol agent
Landcare Research works in partnership with central and local government, industry and Māori organisations. We engage in a wide range of initiatives that are focused on timely sharing of relevant information in accordance with end–user priorities.
Regional Council Roadshow
Along with NIWA and other research providers, we participated in the Council Research Roadshow, organised by EnviroLink, that visited 15 regional councils and unitary authorities during the year. The Roadshow covered research we are doing for various councils as well as other projects and resources of relevance to local government responsibilities and operations. The presentations were well attended by regional council staff in all areas and provided an opportunity for scientists and council staff to discuss common interests. We are following up on topics raised.
Biodiversity: 2010 and beyond
Landcare Research organised, and was principal sponsor for, Biodiversity: 2010 and beyond, the 2010 annual conference of the New Zealand Ecological Society. The theme of the conference recognised the United Nations International Year of Biodiversity. The conference attracted a record number of delegates, including biodiversity managers from central and local government, as well as university students and researchers. A series of symposia examined biodiversity in relation to human populations – cultural perspectives, production lands, and urban ecology, as well as traditional topics associated with reintroductions and predator control. The conference was able to facilitate the uptake of new science for policy, management, and academic researchers.
Biosecurity Bonanza
Following the popular success of the first Biosecurity Bonanza in Christchurch in 2010, another was held this year in Auckland. The free, one–day workshops began as an initiative to make our science more accessible to our stakeholders and encourage more dialogue. This year’s workshop highlighted research from four MSI programmes: Beating Environmental Weeds, Invasive Mammal Impacts on Biodiversity, Control of Small Mammal Pests, and TB and Suppression Systems. After brief overviews of each programme, the nearly 100 attendees from 25 organisations could choose between concurrent sessions on weed and animal pest management. Sessions covered problems, perceptions and risks, ecology, management strategies and technological solutions. There was good audience participation, particularly on contentious issues such as the risks posed by anticoagulant residues in the environment and the balance between public perceptions and evidence–based decisions for pest control. As with the first workshop, feedback was extremely positive.
Biocontrol of weeds training courses
Each year, we offer training courses for people who need to better understand or manage weed biocontrol progammes. The 2–day introductory course covers the underlying philosophy and current projects. Indoor sessions are interspersed with practical activities in the field. The advanced workshop focuses on new developments, and covers some topics in more depth. The workshops are free of charge although organisations that are part of the National Biocontrol Collective have priority.
Interactive weed key
In March 2011, we published an online, interactive, illustrated identification key to all 328 species on DOC’s Consolidated List of Environmental Weeds in New Zealand and the National Pest Plant Accord (NPPA) list of species banned from sale, distribution, and propagation in New Zealand. Other weeds are included in the key along with similar and related species.
National Land Resources Centre
Over the last nine months we have worked with various stakeholders to scope the need for a national repository for land resource data and information, and establish a National Land Resource Centre. We envisage this highly significant repository will bring together data from fundamental research (from within Landcare Research and from other science providers) as well as data from a number of government and industry stakeholders. Once these authoritative sources of information have been established (in both electronic and hard copy), eResearch innovations will be used to provide easy access across a range of scales to assist organisations in reporting on the state of the environment, planning development within environmental limits, and ultimately matching land use to the capacity of land resources.
LRIS portal (Land Resource Information System)
The Land Resources Information System portal, launched in August 2010, provides users with ready access to 80 land and soils datasets. Of over 500 registered users, 28% are from New Zealand businesses; 80% of the 8500 visitors are from New Zealand, with significant numbers from Australia, USA, Sweden, India, Canada and Netherlands. The most popular data are the DEMs, the FSL Soil Classification, and the NZLRI Vegetation and Soil layers.
A survey of LRIS portal users found that 77% thought the portal was important to their business and 73% agreed it was important for their research; 62% agreed that making data available through the portal had created new possibilities for them; and 61% produced higher quality work. There is significant reuse and sharing of data: 72% reused the data they downloaded and 30% had shared the data with others in their organisation. Many respondents also reported they would like to see more of Landcare Research’s data available through the portal.
Precision irrigation workshop
A one–day workshop was hosted by Landcare Research to present our ongoing work on developing a suite of on–farm tools for precision irrigation, including the online S–map information system, paddock–scale mapping using electromagnetic sensors, wireless sensor networks for monitoring real–time soil moisture, and the use of in situ lysimeters for on–farm monitoring of soil drainage. Efficient use of soil moisture has huge potential to significantly improve performance in irrigation systems. It was also an opportunity to get feedback from attendees representing MAF, MfE, FRST, DairyNZ, SIDDC (South Island Dairy Development Centre), ECan, Otago Regional Council, Auckland Council Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, IrrigationNZ, AgResearch, Plant & Food Research, New Zealand Centre for Precision Agriculture (Massey University), Central Plains Irrigation Scheme, Federated Farmers, Precision Irrigation, and two leading irrigation farmers.
The Sustainable Business Forum at BusinessNZ
The Sustainable Business Forum (SBF) is an initiative of BusinessNZ as part of their Sustainable Business Programme. Member companies include the Bank of New Zealand, Contact Energy, Fonterra, Genesis, Landcare Research, Rio Tinto, Meridian, NZ Post, Solid Energy and Westpac. One of the projects SBF has been carrying out is the Sustainability Performance Benchmarking Project, which seeks to identify universally applicable key performance indicators (KPIs) for sustainability benchmarking. Landcare Research has supported and worked with SBF members to identify a set of core KPIs for their reporting. The finalised KPIs and measuring methodologies will be tailored to be relevant to New Zealand businesses, including small and medium–sized enterprises (SMEs), regardless of sector. In developing the KPIs, alignment with the GRI G3’s performance indicators has also been sought so that companies can move to GRI reporting should they meet the other GRI requirements beyond performance indicators.
In an effort to encourage sustainability reporting in New Zealand, Landcare Research and BusinessNZ have entered an agreement with GRI to become the data partners for New Zealand. The role of data partners is to keep detailed records of and promote sustainability reports published by New Zealand companies.