Invasive Species Council

The Invasive Species Council[Note 1] is an Australian environmental non-governmental organisation founded in 2002 to provide a specialist policy and advocacy focus on reducing the threat of invasive species that threaten the environment.[1][2]

History

The Invasive Species Council (ISC) was incorporated in July 2002,[3] and was formed in response to growing concerns regarding the problem of invasive species in Australia.[1][3]

Founding members include Tim Low,[3] Barry Traill, Kate Blood, and five others.[1]

The initial direction of the ISC was to lobby against all invasive species before governments and private industry, and to work with people to achieve outcomes.[3]

Activities

Submissions

The ISC makes submissions in its own right or in collaboration with other organisations to governmental inquiries. For example:

  • Barriers to effective climate change adaption[4] - Federal Government, Productivity Commission
  • Control of invasive animals on crown land[5] - Victorian State Government
  • Feral Animal Management[6] - New South Wales State Government
  • Marine Pest Biosecurity[7] - Federal Government, Department of Agriculture and Water Resources

Lobbying

The ISC highlights potential conflicts of interest, for example in 2015, agriculture taking a precedence over the wider environment when biosecurity is overseen by agriculture managers.[8]

The ISC takes on concerns which are obvious to the public but not on governments' plans, for example in 2016, feral deer,[9][10] and for example in 2016 petitioning multiple federal and state ministers for action on fire ants.[11] The ISC will then provide background and context to Governments' decisions when they respond.[12][13]

The ISC takes opportunities to build awareness of risks in the public mind and creating political interest, for example in 2014, in regard to the importation of dangerous weed seeds going straight through Australian quarantine checks,[14] and again in 2016 embarrassing eBay into temporary action,[15] for example in 2017, in regard to the smooth newt,[16] and that invasive species are possibly a greater threat to native Australian species than habitat loss which is dramatic and assumed to be more important.[17]

Alliances and collaborations

The ISC will coauthor academic and technical papers with research bodies. For example, in 2010 they collaborated with CSIRO on biofuel sources becoming weeds due to the inherent nature of many of them having strong weed potential.[18]

They will partner with other organisations, for example Paddy Pallin Foundation, an environmental organisation, on weed management,[19] for example Island Conservation, another environmental organisation, on sustaining biodiversity on islands.[20]

Direct science, research, and analysis

The ISC also directly undertakes basic science and research, such as in running smooth newt surveys in and around Melbourne.[21]

The ISC research and analysis is cited by others, for example in work by the University of Technology Sydney on recreational hunting.[22]

Outreach and engagement

The ISC operates a science outreach programme focussed on invasive species impacting on the environment.[23]

Froggatt Awards
Main article: Froggatt Awards

Since 2003 the ISC has presented one or more awards to people who have made a major contribution to protecting Australia's native plants and animals, ecosystems, and people from dangerous new invasive species.[24][25] The Froggatt Awards are named in honour of Australian entomologist Walter Froggatt.[26]

These awards received exceptional national media coverage, and even international coverage, when one was awarded to the Australian Federal Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Barnaby Joyce, in part for the Minister's action in regard to pet dogs incorrectly brought to Australia by the actor, Johnny Depp, and his partner, in April 2015.[24]

Publications

The ISC has a regular publication, the Feral Herald.[1]

Structure

The ISC is run by a chief executive officer (CEO), and is overseen by a board of directors.[2]

The CEO in 2017 is Andrew Cox.[2]

The first Board President on formation in 2002 was Barry Traill.[1]

The President of the Board from 2014 to 2017 is Esther Abram.[2]

See also

Notes
  1. This article is about the Australian Invasive Species Council. There a number of non governmental and governmental organisations of the same name in North America.

Further reading
  • Noxious nasties - background and summary of the genesis of the ISC [1]

References
  1. Faulkner, Jane (6 February 2003). "Noxious nasties". The Age. The Age Company. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  2. "Board Review and Recruitment Consultancy Proposal". Pro Bono Australia. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  3. "WHO IS THE INVASIVE SPECIES COUNCIL?". Sporting Shooters Association of Australia. 23 June 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  4. "Barriers to effective climate change adaption: Invasive species and biodiversity conservation" (PDF). Inquiry into Barriers to Effective Climate Change Adaptation. Productivity Commission. 1 December 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  5. "Submission by the Invasive Species Council" (PDF). Inquiry into the control of invasive animals on crown land. Victorian Government Committee. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  6. "Problems with Feral Animal Management in New South Wales" (PDF). NSW Natural Resources Commission review of pest management. New South Wales Natural Resources Commission. 1 November 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  7. "Review of National Marine Pest Biosecurity - A response" (PDF). Review of National Marine Pest Biosecurity. Australian Government - Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. 1 May 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  8. McCarthy, Marty (19 August 2015). "Invasive Species Council highlights conflict of interest in Queensland's biosecurity system, calls for more independence". ABC Rural. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  9. Langford, Ben (18 August 2016). "Feral deer a pest that needs action, Invasive Species Council says". ILLAWARRA Mercury. Fairfax Regional Media. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  10. Gibson, Michael (30 August 2016). "Invasive Species Council Continue Push to Declare Deer as Pests". SPORTING SHOOTER. Yaffa Media. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  11. "Rid Australia of its deadly fire ant menace", Petitioning Federal Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Barnaby Joyce, change.org, 2016
  12. Mannix, Liam (2 May 2017). "Victorian state budget: Victoria's $20 million war chest to fight alien ant invasion". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  13. Dye, Josh (8 December 2014). "Red fire ant outbreak in Sydney could cost economy billions". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  14. Norris, Andrew (20 November 2014). "Bad seed: Quarantine concern for online orders". farmonline - NATIONAL. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  15. Mathiesen, Karl (23 May 2016). "Australia's worst invasive plant species available for import on Amazon and eBay". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  16. Bailey, Megan (5 February 2017). "Poisonous smooth newt threatens health of Melbourne waterways". Herald Sun - Cranbourne Leader. News Corp. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  17. Aikman, Amos (15 April 2017). "Greens must join farmers in push for quarantine lift". THE AUSTRALIAN. News Limited. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  18. Low, Tim; Booth, Carol; Sheppard, Andy (1 March 2011). "Weedy Biofuels: What can be done?". Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2010.12.007. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  19. "Environmental Weeds". Paddy Pallin Foundation. 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  20. "We're losing our Island Wildlife!". Island Conservation. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  22. Bekoff, Marc; Ramp, Daniel (15 February 2013). "Compassionate Conservation - Is recreational hunting defensible? PART 2" (PDF). University of Technology Sydney. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  23. "Outreach Officer/Science Communicator" (PDF). NRMjobs. 1 May 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  24. "Barnaby Joyce 'humbled' after being honoured over expelling Johnny Depp's dogs Pistol and Boo". ABC News. 18 December 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  25. Traill, Barry (1 March 2004). "Winner of the Froggatt Award 2003 - Barbara Waterhouse" (PDF). Feral Herald. Invasive Species Council. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  26. Wright, Lindsay (12 September 2005). "Stuffed cane toad award is important". ABC Rural. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
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