The Australian Plague Locust Commission (APLC) is a division of the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, created in 1974 to manage outbreaks of the Australian plague locust, spur-throated locust and migratory locust in eastern Australia. [1] With 19 staff members at its headquarters in Canberra and field offices in Narromine, Broken Hill and Longreach, it is funded half by the Commonwealth government and half by the Australian states of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.
The APLC conducts regular surveys of locust populations and migrations and carries out control of locust outbreaks by means of aerial application of pesticides; [1] traditionally these were chemicals, but more recently APLC has been a major contributor to the development of a biological pesticide in collaboration with CSIRO and LUBILOSA scientists. With CSIRO, it also conducts educational outreach and training courses for landowners, businesses, and local governments, including international consulting work in China, Africa and South America.
Responsibility to control the pest species resides with the states. The APLC coordinates activities when species migrate across state borders. [2] The establishment of the APLC allowed for the first use of remotely sensed data to forecast locust populations in Australia. [3]
In 2010, the APLC together with the states identified the potential for a significant infestation of the spur-throated locust. A coordinated effort to minimise damage was undertaken. It was estimated the activities resulted in a saving of $963 million from the expenditure of $50 million. [4]
Locusts are a group of certain species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances they become more abundant and change their behaviour and habits, becoming gregarious. No taxonomic distinction is made between locust and grasshopper species; the basis for the definition is whether a species forms swarms under intermittently suitable conditions.
A pest is any animal or plant harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes. Humans have modified the environment for their own purposes and are intolerant of other creatures occupying the same space when their activities impact adversely on human objectives. Thus, an elephant is unobjectionable in its natural habitat but a pest when it tramples crops.
The desert locust is a species of locust, a periodically swarming, short-horned grasshopper in the family Acrididae. They are found mainly in Africa, through Arabia and West Asia, and extending into parts of South Asia. During population surge years, they may extend into parts of western Spain. The desert locust shows periodic changes in its body form and can change, in response to environmental conditions, over generations, from a solitary, shorter-winged, highly fecund, nonmigratory form to a gregarious, long-winged, and migratory phase in which they may travel long distances into new areas. In some years, they may thus form locust plagues, invading new areas, where they may consume all vegetation including crops, and at other times, they may live unnoticed in small numbers.
The Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources was an Government department that existed between 2015 and 2019, which was responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs that contribute to strengthening Australia's primary industries, delivering better returns for primary producers at the farm gate, protecting Australia from animal and plant pests and diseases, and improving the health of Australia's rivers and freshwater ecosystems.
The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service was the Australian government agency responsible for enforcing Australian quarantine laws, as part of the Department of Agriculture.
Invasive species in Australia are a serious threat to the native biodiversity, and an ongoing cost to Australian agriculture. Numerous species arrived with European maritime exploration and colonisation of Australia and steadily since then.
The migratory locust is the most widespread locust species, and the only species in the genus Locusta. It occurs throughout Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. It used to be common in Europe but has now become rare there. Because of the vast geographic area it occupies, which comprises many different ecological zones, numerous subspecies have been described. However, not all experts agree on the validity of some of these subspecies.
Hendra virus, scientific name Hendra henipavirus, is a bat-borne virus that is associated with a highly fatal infection in horses and humans. Numerous disease outbreaks in Australia among horses have been caused by Hendra virus. The Hendra virus belongs to the genus Henipavirus, which also contains the Nipah virus, which has also caused disease outbreaks.
Melanoplus is a large genus of grasshoppers. They are the typical large grasshoppers in North America. A common name is spur-throat grasshoppers, but this more typically refers to members of the related subfamily Catantopinae.
The Australian plague locust is a native Australian insect in the family Acrididae, and a significant agricultural pest.
The use of pesticides in Canada is regulated by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, a division of Health Canada via the Pest Control Products Act. Pesticides are used predominantly by the agricultural sector. In 2016, 20% of reported pesticide sales were non-agricultural sector products, and just under 5% were domestic sector products.
The spur-throated locust is a native Australian locust species in the family Acrididae and a significant agricultural pest.
National biosecurity in Australia is governed and administered by two federal government departments, the Department of Health and the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. The Biosecurity Act 2015 and related legislation is administered by the two departments and manages biosecurity risks at the national border. The Act aims to manage biosecurity risks to human health, agriculture, native flora and fauna and the environment. It also covers Australia's international rights and obligations, and lists specific diseases which are contagious and capable of causing severe harm to human health. Each state and territory has additional legislation and protocols to cover biosecurity in their jurisdiction (post-border).
The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries is a department of the Queensland Government which aims to maximise the economic potential for Queensland's primary industries on a sustainable basis through strategic industrial development. The section known as Biosecurity Queensland is responsible for biosecurity matters within the state.
The Queensland Stock Institute was a government scientific facility in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, for the research and prevention of disease in agricultural animals relevant to Queensland. Established in 1893, it was the first research institution in Queensland dedicated to the investigation of disease. In 1900, it was renamed the Bacteriological Institute when activities were officially extended to include human pathology. The institute ceased as a facility for livestock disease in 1910 when animal work was transferred to Yeerongpilly. Laboratory work relating to human disease remained at the purpose-built facility under the control of the health department until 1918.
In 2012, Madagascar had an upsurge in the size of its Malagasy migratory locust populations. In November of that year, the government issued a locust alert, saying that conditions were right for swarming of the pest insects. In February 2013, Cyclone Haruna struck the country, creating optimal conditions for locust breeding. By late March 2013, approximately 50% of the country was infested by swarms of locusts, with each swarm consisting of more than one billion insects. The authorities changed the situation to plague status. According to one eyewitness,"You don't see anything except locusts. You turn around, there are locusts everywhere".
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) was an Australian government department that existed between 1998 and 2013, when it was renamed as the Department of Agriculture. DAFF's role was to develop and implement policies and programs that ensure Australia's agricultural, fisheries, food and forestry industries remained competitive, profitable and sustainable.
The Quarantine Act 1908, also known as the Quarantine Act 1908-1973, was an Act of the Parliament of Australia which is no longer in effect. It was assented to on 30 March 1908. It was superseded by the Biosecurity Act 2015 and repealed on 16 June 2016.
The Australian Department of Agriculture was an Australian Government department in existence between May 2019 and February 2020, which was responsible for developing and implementing policies and programmes that contribute to strengthening Australia's primary industries, delivering better returns for primary producers at the farm gate, protecting Australia from animal and plant pests and diseases, and improving the health of Australia's rivers and freshwater ecosystems.
The 2019–2021 locust infestation is a pest outbreak of desert locusts which is threatening the food supply across the regions of East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Indian subcontinent. The outbreak is the worst in 70 years in Kenya and the worst in 25 years in Ethiopia, Somalia and India. The plague began in June 2019 and continued into 2020, although locust swarms have experienced steady declines in population and geographical reach from May to October, and as of November 2020, primarily found in the Horn of Africa and Yemen.
| General | |
|---|---|
| National libraries | |
| Other | |
 | This Australian government-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
