EIGHT STEPS TO BUILDING A NATIONAL PEST COLLECTION

1.Document all existing collections 2.Establish institutional responsibility 3.Seek legislative or other protection 4.Inform Government of the importance of collections 5.Lobby Government for resources or re-order existing priorities 6.Seek technical assistance to manage collections 7.Harness national resources to populate collections 8.Seek support from donor agencies

1. DOCUMENT EXISTING COLLECTIONS  Record all collections including working and teaching collections, of potential value  Should be done on site using scientists with appropriate skills and knowledge  Reject the idea of doing this by questionnaire

2. ESTABLISH INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITY  Institutions involved in plant health can include:  National/state agricultural & forest research agencies,  National plant protection agencies,  Crop specific research institutes,  Academic institutions,  National history museums.

INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES  AUSTRALIA  Commonwealth: – Quarantine – International trade  States/Territories: – Agricultural production & forestry – Plant health, including collections

3. SEEK LEGISLATIVE OR OTHER PROTECTION  Botanical gardens, zoos & many natural history museums have statutory protection,  Explore opportunities for protecting arthropod pest collections in law.  Appoint Boards of Governors who can oversee the development of collections, influence Governments, and intercede when collections are threatened.

4. INFORM GOVERNMENT OF THE IMPORTANCE OF PEST COLLECTIONS 4. INFORM GOVERNMENT OF THE IMPORTANCE OF PEST COLLECTIONS  Trade  Pest management  Protection of agriculture & the environment  Quarantine policy

5. LOBBY GOVERNMENTS FOR RESOURCES OR RE-ORDER EXISTING PRIORITIES 5. LOBBY GOVERNMENTS FOR RESOURCES OR RE-ORDER EXISTING PRIORITIES  Use influential people in the community  Farm leaders  Traders  Politicians

6. SEEK TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO MANAGE COLLECTIONS  Expertise in managing pest collections may exist in:  Other institutions responsible for plant health  Institutions with no responsibility for plant health, eg. microbial culture collections  Be prepared to network widely for assistance, including drawing on international experts

7. HARNESS NATIONAL RESOURCES TO POPULATE COLLECTIONS  Capture all the expertise from within the country to assist in identification of plant pests and diseases:  No one scientist has expertise across the range of plant pests,  Run awareness campaigns to inform plant health scientists of the importance of biological collections  Inform scientists on how to handle/lodge specimens,  Provide information on minimum data set needed to meet ISPM 8.

8. SEEK ASSISTANCE FROM INTERNATIONAL DONOR AGENCIES 8. SEEK ASSISTANCE FROM INTERNATIONAL DONOR AGENCIES  Do this on a bilateral or multilateral basis  Articulate priorities for assistance  Technical  Financial