Collaboration on biosecurity on the cards for councils

Predator Free projects, marine biosecurity and tackling invasive tussock could all get a boost from better collaboration among regional councils in the lower South Island, the Otago Regional Council (ORC) says.

The council’s environmental delivery committee backed "collaborative work" with Environment Canterbury, Environment Southland and the West Coast Regional Council on regional pest management in the vein of ongoing cross-council collaboration on wilding pines and wallabies.

ORC environmental implementation manager Libby Caldwell said an official letter to the three southern councils remained in "early draft form" but co-ordinated biosecurity action brought healthier ecosystems, reduced economic losses and created stronger community resilience.

"Cross-boundary initiatives are much more effective when managed at scale," Mrs Caldwell said.

"Predator Free projects, freshwater biosecurity, marine biosecurity, nassella tussock are some good examples where further collaboration could be useful."

Pests and diseases "move across land and water", crossing regional boundaries and so co-ordinated responses were required.

She said by working together councils could avoid duplication, share research and monitoring, as well as provide consistent rules or expectations for communities.

Mrs Caldwell said further collaboration could "strengthen collective influence" and provide for a louder voice when advocating for South Island biosecurity issues.

Details would need to be explored with the other councils but as a result of collaboration regional pest management plans and priorities could be aligned.

Co-ordinated data collection, reporting and early detection systems could be designed.

And funding, staff expertise and specialist equipment could be pooled.

She said it was important to note that at a staff level work was already under way with the other councils, including on collaborative incursion response plans for "pests, diseases and pathogens which we don’t know about yet".

At last week’s environmental delivery committee Cr Kate Wilson said the council needed its "boundary partners to be on board".

ORC chairwoman Gretchen Robertson said the council should "start with our neighbours" and then consider expanding collaboration work across the South Island, or New Zealand.

"There’s a lot more scope."

hamish.maclean@odt.co.nz