national strategic plan written for a Weed of National Significance (WoNS) with respect to its likely or realised effectiveness within a nominated locality within Victoria.

Evaluating a Pest Plant Management Strategic Plan

Instruction:

Background: Landowners and land managers of all levels have the responsibility for managing Weeds of National Significance (WoNS) while state and territory governments have the responsibility for legislation and regulation of weeds. The WoNS pose or potentially can pose such a serious threat to Australia that it is necessary to co-ordinate their management at a national level, thus there is a national strategic plan for each WoNS that defines and identifies the strategies and actions necessary to control these weeds. There are three stages for management of WoNS. Phases 1 & 2 are at the national level and provide for a Management Coordinator and a National management Group/Steering Committee to oversee implementation of strategic plans and coordinate priority actions. In phase 3, the states and territories have the responsibility for national coordination within their jurisdiction. The problem is that many WoNS are widespread, occurring in a wide variety of habitats and governing bodies may have locally defined issues that limit the efficacy of implementation of nationally based strategic plans. A review of national strategic plans with a focus on their efficacy at the local level can highlight the areas where the strategic plan may be lacking or identify areas where improvements can be made to assist local management of WoNS. If management of WoNS does not succeed at the local level, it cannot succeed at the national level! Conducting a review of a strategic plan forces one to consider what should go into one thus assists in understanding how to produce a plan. TASK You will be reviewing a national strategic plan written for a Weed of National Significance (WoNS) with respect to its likely or realised effectiveness within a nominated locality within Victoria. You will use evidence from a variety of sources (e.g. scientific literature, popular print media, appropriate websites) to support your argument. Choose one of the following Pest Plant Strategic Plans and nominated locality to review: 1. iii. Weeds of National Significance: Brooms (Cytisus scoparius, Genista Monspessulana and G. linifolia) Strategic Plan 2012 – 2017; review with respect to the efficacy of the Strategic Plan within the Wimmera. 2. vi. Weeds of National Significance: Bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera ssp. rotundata (DC) T. Norl.) and boneseed (Chrysanthemoides monilifera ssp. monilifera (L.) T. Norl.)) Strategic Plan 2012 – 2017; review with respect to the efficacy of the Strategic Plan within the Wimmera. Before you can begin your report, you must gather the background information so that you have a basis to determine whether something is good, bad, indifferent or missing in the strategy. Useful background information includes: a) the human dimensions of your issue. Is there likely to be opposition or support for management? Why? Why not? What does the public know/understand about your weed and its impacts, and about management methods? b) national, state and local legislation, policies, and strategies that are relevant; c) stakeholders; d) social, environmental, economic impacts of the pest and management methods; e) what types of habitat the pest species occupy; how this might impact on management methods; f) ecology of the pest species; how this might impact on management methods, timelines, costs etc. g) the location (e.g. what site-specific factors might you need to consider in management? terrain, land tenure etc); h) effective control methods; do you need an integrative approach? i) monitoring methods; is one more suitable than another? j) research needs; is any research required prior to implementation of particular eradication procedures? How will management affect other biota, fauna and flora etc. k) anything else that is relevant. Once you have the background information, you can review your pest management strategy. Some things to consider in your report: • You must state your aim and explain why it is important to evaluate a strategic plan. Use the literature to support your argument. • Explain the brief of the strategic plan that you are evaluating. • Does the strategic plan include all the sections that should be presented in a strategic plan? Explain your argument with support from the literature. Take into account the goals of the strategic plan and its scope. • How well does the strategic plan describe/discuss (whichever is pertinent) each of the sections? Explain your argument with support from the literature. For example, if you are discussing how well the ecology of the species was treated in the strategic plan, you must have searched the literature for what is known about the species so that you can state, with examples, whether or not particular points were made. Consider whether potential issues and strategies to address these issues were identified in the strategic plan. Consider whether measurable objectives to achieve priorities were utilised. • Remember to relate your arguments to your locality as you are trying to determine how well a strategic plan at the national level is likely to prove at a local level. Are there any gaps in knowledge, procedures, advice e.t.c. that would hinder application of the strategic plan to your region? If so, what are they? What is the information that should be included and why? • Your report should include references to peer-reviewed literature. You also may reference media articles for describing social issues associated with the problem, and government websites for legislation, policies and program CLICK HERE TO GET A PROFESSIONAL WRITER TO WORK ON THIS PAPER AND GET A PLAGIARISM FREE PAPER………………  CLICK HERE AND ORDER NOW……………………….