Webinar 2: Surveillance 101

During the second webinar of the botanic gardens biosecurity webinar series Dr Louise Rossiter, Leader, Plant Pest Surveillance at NSW Department of Primary Industries, gave on overview of what plant pest surveillance is and why it is important.

“At its simplest, plant pest surveillance is a process which collects and records data on pest presence, absence or particular characteristics through survey, monitoring or other procedures,” said Louise.

“Surveillance is broadly broken down into two different categories. Specific surveillance which is a defined survey and generally coordinated by government agencies, and general surveillance which is where you collect information of pests from a variety of sources.”

“A really good source of general surveillance information is reporting by the public through such mechanisms as the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline (1800 084 881).”

In the webinar, she explained that plant pest surveillance is undertaken for a range of reasons including to:

  • provide an early warning of pests that may arrive in Australia
  • support early detection of pests
  • work out how far spread a pest is during an eradication program
  • provide evidence we don’t have a pest to our trading partners
  • understand the spread and activity of pests already established in Australia.

For an in-depth discussion of the process of planning and conducting surveillance watch the full webinar below.


This webinar was held as part of a series of webinars hosted by the Botanic Gardens Biosecurity Network. Watch the other webinars here.

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