Meet the National Biocontrol Collective
The National Biocontrol Collective and Landcare Research staff at their annual meeting in October 2015.
One of the advantages of being a small country is that it can be easier to achieve a co-ordinated and cohesive approach to issues of national importance. A great example of this is the National Biocontrol Collective (NBC), which since 2002 has been jointly tackling serious weeds through biocontrol methods. In this piece we reflect on what the NBC has achieved, some of the key reasons for its success, and current and future challenges.
The NBC pools its resources, and undertakes collaborative decision-making about how best to use them, for the benefit of the whole country. This has allowed work to be undertaken on some serious weeds that are currently low incidence, e.g. lantana (Lantana camara), that would otherwise be difficult to support. The NBC has also, by providing co-funding, enabled other significant funds to be leveraged by community groups for biocontrol of productive sector weeds via the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Sustainable Farming Fund such as those currently operating for field horsetail (Equisetum arvense) and tutsan (Hypericum androsaemum). “Support from the NBC for local projects like this is a huge boost to local communities attempting to find solutions to serious weed problems,” said Craig Davey of Horizons Regional Council.
Each spring the NBC (comprised of 10 regional councils, three unitary authorities and the Department of Conservation) gets together to reflect on progress and agree on priorities for funding the following year. “Differences in weed priorities regionally have always meant robust debates but the NBC has always been able to agree on an acceptable programme of work,” confirmed Lynley Hayes. It is essential that all members can identify at least one project of benefit to them. Projects are ranked through a voting process and then the list is scrutinized, and if necessary tweaked slightly, to gain this agreement. “The NBC operates with a high degree of trust and goodwill, and this has been critical to its success and longevity,” said Lynley.
Until recently the projects funded by the NBC have been mostly influenced by factors such as investment to date, the ability to leverage other funds and how widespread a weed is (which tends to gain it more votes). With far more weeds to manage in New Zealand than there will ever be funding to develop biocontrol for, it has been recognized that more emphasis needs to be given to tackling those with the worst potential impacts (e.g. ecosystem transformers), even if they are not widespread, and the NBC is now beginning to take this more into account.
Over the past 13 years the NBC has invested $7.3m in weed biocontrol, which has contributed substantially to allowing 18 new agents to be approved for 10 targets. Hard data on what has been achieved for this investment to date have been lacking, since it can be decades before biocontrol projects come to fruition and it has simply been too soon to assess the benefits. However, a number of projects appear set to be highly successful. Recent large outbreaks of the broom gall mite (Aceria genistae), woolly nightshade lace bug (Gargaphia decoris) and green thistle beetles (Cassida rubiginosa) have severely damaged their target weeds and, although only released recently, tradescantia beetles (Neolema spp., Lema basicostata) are already causing some impressive damage at some sites.
It has traditionally been difficult to gain support for the monitoring and assessment components of biocontrol projects, through any funding source. However, the NBC is supporting two projects currently to assess some agents released before the collective came into being. Ragwort flea beetle (Longitarsus jacobaeae), nodding thistle crown weevil (Trichosirocalus horridus) and nodding thistle gall fly (Urophora solstitalis) release sites are being revisited and reassessed nationwide 15–25 years after these agents were released. The NBC also recently adopted a nationwide monitoring protocol (see Issue 71) to ensure all the agents they develop are followed up appropriately. “Funding from the NBC supports a database that keeps track of the fate of released agents, the production of this newsletter and the development of other information resources to support the work, as well as annual workshops to upskill their staff in the philosophy and practice of biocontrol,” explained Lynley.
Until more local data is available the case for biocontrol is often made by taking a global view. Overseas reviews have shown that around a third of biocontrol programmes are so successful that no other control is subsequently required, half are partially successful (e.g. effective in some habitats, but not in others) and only a sixth are failures (no impact). Often the reason for a lack of success is insufficient funding to complete the necessary research, rather than the lack of suitable agents. Overseas studies have also shown that the benefit-cost ratio that can be expected from the investment in weed biocontrol projects is between 10:1 and 4000:1. Biocontrol projects typically cost between $500K and $2M all up, depending on whether they are a repeat of a project developed elsewhere or aimed at a never before attempted target. The benefits of successful projects are typically so large that they totally eclipse the costs of developing less successful projects (see Ragwort Pays Off). “All evidence suggests that substantial benefits can be expected from NBC-funded work, even if not all projects are successful,” said Craig.
A recent analysis published, by Quentin Paynter as lead author, suggests that agents are being developed by the NBC in a highly cost-effective manner. This paper found that the average cost of developing an agent for New Zealand was NZ$355,686 (with the average cost per novel agent being NZ$475,334, more than double the average of NZ$202,803 for repeat agents). By comparison, in 1997 the cost on average to produce a weed biocontrol agent overseas (based on the number of scientist years to test an agent reported by practitioners in Canada, Europe and the USA) through to introduction was estimated to be US$460,000. This equated to approximately NZ$1m in 2014 (taking into account the exchange rate of the day and CPI adjustment).
The NBC invests a modest amount of resources across a range of projects annually (typically around $50-$100K) so progress can be slower, but made on multiple fronts, to satisfy the wider needs of members. An important lesson has been that when a number of novel projects are begun in quick succession there can be lean periods where no new agents become available and progress is questioned. “These can be followed by boom periods when many agents come to fruition in quick succession, which can put stress on resources such as containment facilities and the regulatory body, the Environmental Protection Authority,” explained Lynley. The NBC is now beginning to consider more fully the implications of the overall portfolio of projects agreed each year.
Objectives agreed with the NBC annually have often not been tightly prescriptive to allow minimal administration and maximum flexibility, so the work plan can quickly be refocused if necessary as opportunities arise and subside. However, this approach can mean that some NBC members feel they have insufficient control over what happens, and more prescriptive or milestone contracting may be required in the future, which is likely to increase the cost of the administration.
New Zealand manages to punch far above its weight on the international weed biocontrol scene, especially considering the modest resources it has for the work compared to others. New Zealand is probably developing weed biocontrol agents more quickly and cheaply than any other country in the world. Legislation that enables weed biocontrol agents to be approved in a timely and efficient manner in New Zealand is a contributing success factor. However, no other country appears to have a similar arrangement where end-users collaboratively undertake decision-making about priorities, advocate for and provide long-term support for projects, and assist with release and redistribution of agents and follow-up assessment. There is also no other model internationally where operational research sits so hand in glove with underpinning research programmes, where both are able to immediately benefit the other. “Landcare Research’s government-funded Beating Weeds programme has enhanced the safety and efficacy of biocontrol and been able to support projects where more than routine operational research is required (e.g. when the tradescantia beetles needed to be freed of internal parasites),” explained Simon Fowler, who manages the Beating Weeds programme. The NBC programme also benefits the Beating Weeds programme by allowing it to demonstrate both immediate relevance and uptake.
Boom and bust funding, sadly a common scenario for science, has seen the major loss of weed biocontrol capability in countries like Australia, which were previously world leaders. Once capacity is lost it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to replace it. Government and NBC funding have provided some stability to date, allowing national capacity in New Zealand (largely housed in Landcare Research) to remain mostly intact. Neither source, though, is keeping pace with inflation currently or is guaranteed to continue in the longer term, so the risk of loss of national capability remains. “However, other organisations are showing interest in joining the NBC, and this represents an opportunity to build on and enhance achievements to date, provided the key aspects that have contributed to success are not eroded,” said Lynley. National Science Challenges, currently being set up in New Zealand, may also provide further opportunities for enhanced collaborations to minimise the impacts of serious weeds.
Currently the NBC is funding the development of biocontrol for:
- Banana Passionfruit (Passiflora spp.)
- Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense)
- Darwin’s Barberry (Berberis darwinii)
- Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)
- Lagarosiphon (Lagarosiphon major)
- Moth Plant (Araujia hortorum)
- Old Man’s Beard (Clematis vitalba)
- Pampas (Cortaderia spp.)
- Wild Ginger (Hedychium spp.)
- Woolly Nightshade (Solanum mauritianum)
We thank the National Biocontrol Collective for their wonderful support over many years!