Lantana (Lantana camara L.)

strategic plan 2012–17

This publication is produced as part of the Weeds of National Significance initiative, a joint initiative between the Commonwealth of Australia and each of the Australian states and territories.

© Commonwealth of Australia 2012

ISBN 978-1-921575-83-9 (online)

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia Licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au.

Published by the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Canberra.

The Australian Government and the Australian Weeds Committee (AWC) support and encourage the dissemination and exchange of publicly funded information. The Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia Licence applies to all material in this publication save for the content supplied by third parties, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry logo, the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, and any material protected by trademark. Where the material in the publication is owned by a third party, you should contact the copyright owner before making any use of that material outside what is permitted under the Copyright Act 1968.

While every care has been taken in preparing this publication, the AWC accepts no responsibility for decisions or actions taken as a result of any data, information, statement or advice, expressed or implied, contained in this report.

An unpublished draft of the revised strategic plan has guided national coordination of this Weed of National Significance for the past two years. Before publishing the revised plan, the Australian Weeds Committee altered it because some actions had been completed, and then agreed to include a uniform monitoring, evaluation, reporting and improvement (MERI) template for all phase-3 Weeds of National Significance.

Supporting information about the Australian Weeds Strategy, Weeds of National Significance and progress to date may be found at www.weeds.org.au, where links and downloads provide contact details for all species and copies of the strategy. Comments and constructive criticism are welcome as an aid to improving the process and future revisions of this strategy.

This publication (and any material sourced from it) should be attributed as:

Australian Weeds Committee 2012, Lantana (Lantana camara L.) strategic plan 2012–17, Weeds of National Significance, Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Canberra.

Inquiries should be addressed to:

Email: awc@daff.gov.au

Copies of this publication are available from the Secretariat or at www.weeds.org.au/wons

Contents

Acknowledgements

The author would also like to thank the Australian and Queensland governments for their continued financial and administrative support of the Lantana Weeds of National Significance Coordinator role—support that enabled the redevelopment of this strategic plan to occur.

Summary

Despite extensive control efforts, anecdotal evidence suggests that lantana is continuing to invade habitats and increase its density in many areas. Consequently, ongoing strategic and coordinated management is required to ensure further spread is restricted and to reduce the impacts within its current distribution.

Lantana was declared a Weed of National Significance (WoNS) in 1999. The first strategic plan was published in 2001 and reviewed in 2009.

In developing the Lantana Strategic Plan 2012–17, previous achievements and advances in technology have been considered. The strategic plan includes updated targets and strategic linkages—ensuring that the WoNS initiative remains in-step with the contemporary weed management environment and that it provides a clear framework for the coordinated management of lantana throughout Australia.

The strategic plan has been developed in consultation with representatives from local and state governments, industry bodies, conservation agencies, natural resource management groups and community groups, and documents the commitments of these stakeholders to ongoing and strategic lantana management in Australia.

The plan highlights the major gaps and challenges that still face Australia in the battle to protect our primary industries and natural assets from the worst effects of this weed. However, it also provides hope and a clear forward direction for all those involved.

The plan has three closely linked goals, each with a series of underlying objectives:

1 Prevent new infestations from establishing

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  Enforce relevant national and state legislation.
  
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  Maintain containment lines and zones.
  
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  Maintain knowledge of level and extent of all current infestations.
  
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  Investigate the dynamics of spread.
  

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  Adopt best-practice management techniques.
  
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  Implement strategic management to protect priority assets.
  
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  Implement best-practice biological control programs.
  
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  Investigate the ecology of lantana to determine better control options.
  
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  Manage ornamental plantings of lantana.
  

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  Develop cooperative management frameworks to deliver the objectives of the strategic plan.
  
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  Engage and support the community.
  
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  Maintain the effectiveness and relevance of the strategic plan.
  
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  Seek ongoing allocation of resources for delivery of the strategic plan.
  

Australians working together to contain the range and minimise the impacts of lantana as an essential component of landscape-scale weed management.