A newly published Battler Series has been added to the Pacific’s arsenal to restore island resilience through invasive species management.
The Clean Boats, Clean Ports Framework is the 18th Battler Series developed to prevent the spread of invasive species between islands within countries. Battler Series are knowledge-sharing resources, allowing technical experts and practitioners to share what they have learned about common invasive species issues in the Pacific.
In a statement issued by SPREP noted that the Clean Boats, Clean Ports framework aims to manage invasive species at the port(s) of entry into Pacific Island countries by securing the pathways that species can use to spread and reducing the numbers or completely removing invasive species on the main island, also known as the source.
“The Clean Boats, Clean Ports framework promotes flexible options that countries can adopt depending on their unique circumstances, as all countries within the Pacific region are diverse, and therefore, a one-size-fits-all approach is unrealistic,” says Mr. David Moverley, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme’s (SPREP) Invasive Species Adviser.
“One of the fundamental principles of preventing the arrival, establishment, and spread of invasive species is to manage risk at its source, which is most often the main port of entry.”
The Framework outlines and defines a series of actions and systems needed to detect the arrival and prevent the establishment and spread of invasive species within Countries. It encourages inter-agency cooperation between existing Biosecurity or Quarantine teams and other participants involved in biosecurity, such as environment officers.
Monica Gruber from Wellington Univentures prepared this guide based on the experiences and knowledge shared by many around the region, especially in-country Agriculture and Environment directors, managers, officers and PRISMSS partners and SPREP. The development of the publication was funded under the Global Environment Facility 6 Regional Invasives Project (GEF 6 RIP), as part of the Protect Our Islands programme.
Protect Our Islands is one of the five technical programs of the Pacific Regional Invasive Species Management Support Service (PRISMSS) that helps prevent the arrival, establishment, and spread of invasive species in the Pacific islands region.
The Clean Boats, Clean Ports battler series is available for download on the Battler Resource Base, along with the previously developed and launched biosecurity-related guides such as the Protect Our Islands with Biosecurity, Manage Marine Biosecurity in the Pacific, and Catch it Early: Invasive Species Early Detection and Rapid Response.
