The Plant Surveillance Network Australasia-Pacific (PSNAP) enables members to communicate about plant pest surveillance and acts as a coordination point for surveillance professionals and practitioners to strengthen surveillance capacity and capability across Australia, New Zealand and the nearby region.
The network was formed in 2017 as an initiative of the Subcommittee for National Plant Health Surveillance (SNPHS).
The concept of the Plant Surveillance Network follows the success of the National Plant Biosecurity Diagnostic Network (under the Subcommittee on Plant Health Diagnostics).
The National Plant Biosecurity Surveillance Professional Development and Protocols Projects are coordinated and delivered by Plant Health Australia and are funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The objectives of the Projects are to enhance and strengthen Australia’s surveillance capacity and capability to identify priority plant pests that impact on plant industries, environment and the community.
Plant pest surveillance activities are critical to the Australian and New Zealand agriculture and the biosecurity systems that protect them. Surveillance activities provide benefits to agricultural industries, the community and the environment.
‘Surveillance’ is a system of making and recording checks or inspections for plant pests (a broad term that refers to invertebrates and pathogens that negatively impact plants, plant products, bees, or edible fungi). Plant pests are estimated to cause losses of 20-40% every year, highlighting the significant impact they have on food production, food security, the natural environment and ecosystems.
The Subcommittee on National Plant Health Surveillance (SNPHS) is the subcommittee of the Plant Health Committee that provides advice on national plant health surveillance issues. It is an Australian national group made up of representatives from the Australian government, state and territory governments, Plant Health Australia (PHA) and the CSIRO.
SNPHS aims to improve processes and capability for plant pest surveillance by:
