Weeds of national significance

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1.3Strategic plan development

The African Boxthorn Strategic Plan was initiated with a consultation process in early 2012. Consultation of stakeholders frequently involved stakeholder workshops consulting on most of the new WoNS.

State wide workshops were held in South Australia (Adelaide), Tasmania (Launceston) and Queensland (Brisbane). Regional workshops were held in New South Wales and the ACT. In addition, national coordinators undertook extensive emailing of feedback spreadsheets to stakeholders nationally (including to Western Australia and Victoria), and personal contact was made with key people such as researchers and weed managers.
On 16 & 17 April, 2012 a WoNS State/Territory Agency National Strategy Workshop was held in Adelaide. Representatives from all state jurisdictions attended this. During those two days the principles that underpin this plan (and many other new WoNS plans) were agreed upon. The objectives and strategic actions that form the core of this plan have their basis in the extensive feedback provided during the second day of the Adelaide workshop.

1.4Relevance to other strategies

At a national level, the Australian Weeds Strategy provides direction on weed management issues. Weeds of National Significance (WoNS) are a significant component of the implementation of the Australian Weeds Strategy. There are 32 species or groups now listed as WoNS. This Strategic Plan is to direct national coordination for one of these – African boxthorn.

National strategies for other new WoNS have been developed often with cooperative and overlapping consultation with jurisdictions and other stakeholders. For this reason in particular, many actions contained within the African Boxthorn Strategic Plan will be shared by other new WoNS plans. These actions will be most effectively implemented through collaborative efforts by national coordinators. For example, development and promotion of weed hygiene management tools and techniques is an action of likely interest in national coordination of multiple WoNS, and so a collaborative effort in developing these is most sensible.
Successful implementation of the African boxthorn Strategic Plan is significantly reliant on the incorporation of relevant aspects into jurisdictional (state and territory), regional and local strategies and plans. As relevant strategies and plans are developed or reviewed, relevant aspects of this and other WoNS national strategies need to be considered, and where possible, incorporated.
Table 1 summarises the national context for the African Boxthorn Strategic Plan.

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Table 1. Relevance to other strategies – the national context

Scale	Strategies and Plans
National	Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2010 - 2030 ↓ Australian Weeds Strategy ↓ African Boxthorn National Strategy
Jurisdiction (state or territory)	Victoria Invasive Plants and Animals Policy Framework New South Wales NSW Invasive Species Plan (Biodiversity Priorities for Widespread Weeds) Queensland Queensland Weed Strategy Tasmania WeedPlan – Tasmania’s Weed Management Strategy South Australia State Natural Resources Management Plan Western Australia A Weed Plan for Western Australia Australian Capital Territory ACT Weeds Strategy Northern Territory The Northern Territory Weeds Management Strategy
Regional	Catchment Management Authority/Natural Resource Management strategies Catchment Management Authority/Natural Resource Management weed or pest management plans Regional weed management authorities Public authority regional pest strategies (e.g. parks and wildlife service regional pest management strategies)
Local	Local government weed or pest management plans and development plans

STRATEGIC GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Strategic goals and objectives used here reflect the strategic management priorities applied successfully in national coordination of the first twenty WoNS.

Prevention of new weed infestations is far more cost effective than management of established infestations. The first strategic goal is about prevention of establishment of new infestations. Implementing this may include targeted eradication of outlier infestations and containment of core infestations. With regard to African boxthorn, this might apply to preventing infestation of offshore islands, areas of rangeland, riparian and wetland areas and other vulnerable environments.
Where infestations have established, the most strategic approach is to direct resources to areas where the weed poses threats to natural (e.g. threatened species/communities), production (e.g. agriculture or forestry), heritage (indigenous and European), and other priority assets. The second goal seeks to strategically manage established infestations essentially through first targeting areas where priority assets are threatened.
The third strategic goal “stakeholder capability and willingness to manage WoNS weed increased” sets out to reinforce the capability and willingness of stakeholders to effectively and efficiently implement the first two goals as top priorities. This includes the provision of best practice management information, national mapping, education and awareness, identification and promotion of priority research and research findings, and more. This goal in addition provides the means through which progress can be made with less strategic infestations (for example, promoting development of biological control options for core infestations).
As a package, the strategic goals and objectives are about preventing spread, protecting priority assets, and reinforcing capability and willingness to do these things in a strategic manner. These are summarized in Table 2 below, and detailed into actions in section 3 that follows.
Actions in section 3 have been prioritized 1, 2 or 3 based on the following:

Priority 1 – critical to the success of the strategy e.g. (urgent) timeline around priority levels
Priority 2 – highly beneficial and will contribute significantly to the success of the strategy
Priority 3 - desirable, still beneficial, but not critical to success of the strategy

Table 2. Strategic goals and objectives

Strategic Goal	Objectives
Prevent new infestations from establishing	1.1 Invasion vectors, sources and pathways are identified and managed to prevent or reduce spread
	1.2 Surveillance and response mechanisms are ensuring timely detection of the infestations (both new and previously undetected)
	1.3 Priority outlier infestations are contained or eradicated and spread from core infestations is prevented
Existing infestations are under strategic management	2.1 Priority assets are benefitting from long term strategic weed control programs
Existing infestations are under strategic management	2.2 Holistic weed and land/water management practices are improving natural ecosystem condition, sustainable production and community wellbeing
Stakeholder capability and willingness to manage African boxthorn increased	3.1 Infestations are mapped to national standards and to a level sufficient to inform decision making
	3.2 Best practice management delivers efficient, effective and long-term control
	3.3 Capability and motivation to manage are enhanced by education and awareness
	3.4 Research priorities are identified, promoted, addressed and results are informing management
	3.5 Local to national plans incorporate strategic WoNS priorities
	3.6 Stakeholders are committed to effective delivery of the strategic plan
	3.7 Appropriate policies, codes of practice, legislation and enforcement are supporting strategic management objectives
	3.8 The national strategic plan is relevant and effective

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