B3 · Better Border Biosecurity
Coordinating and delivering innovative science based solutions to protect New Zealand from harmful organisms.
Better Border Biosecurity (B3) is a large multi-partner cooperative science programme researching ways to reduce the rate at which new pests cross the border and establish in New Zealand.
New Zealand's unique island status and geographic isolation means that the country is free from many pests that damage crop plants, disrupt natural ecosystems, and endanger human health elsewhere in the world.
The programme aims to help maintain that advantage by improving the ability to predict, intercept, and eradicate new pests, weeds, and diseases of plants before they become established in New Zealand.
- Can Better Border Biosecurity make a difference?
- Who will benefit from the research?
- Who are the research partners?
- Key stakeholders
- Funding partners
- Associated programmes
- Links to project websites
Can Better Border Biosecurity make a difference?
If nothing is done, more than 500 new pests are expected to become established in New Zealand over the next decade at a cost to the economy, in direct and ongoing control costs, of $921 million.
If the rate at which unwanted pests and disease are stopped at the border improves by just 1% per year for ten years, then savings of some $16 million are anticipated. If improved surveillance and eradication reduces the number of new pests that become permanently established in New Zealand by a similar amount, then about $96 million might be saved in terms of the direct impact of those pests and the cost of mitigation measures.
Who will benefit from the research?
Pests, weeds, and plant diseases affect all of New Zealand's important primary industries (agriculture, horticulture, cropping, and forestry), as well as some indigenous ecosystems and public health. Indeed, border biosecurity is a truly cross-sectoral issue, and its failure affects everyone.
Who are the research partners?
Key stakeholders
- MAF Biosecurity New Zealand
- Department of Conservation
- Environmental Risk Management Authority
- Forest Biosecurity Research Council
Funding partner
The NZ Foundation for Research, Science and Technology is contributing $74 million over 12 years.
Associated programmes
- Australian Cooperative Research Centre for National Plant Biosecurity
- Selective and environmentally-friendly technologies for invasive ant and wasp pest management
Links to project websites
The following websites are outputs from the B3 programme:
- BIREA, the Biocontrol Information Resource for ERMA New Zealand Applicants Information on biological control safety, especially targetted to practitioners who are planning to apply to ERMA to introduce a biocontrol agent to New Zealand, but with a lot of relevant information for other stakeholders, Maori, and researchers with an interest in biological control and risk assessment.
- Unwanted in New Zealand: diseases and pests of crops
Information on biosecurity specifically for primary producers, including downloadable field-guides for identifying unwanted organisms in particular crops.
