Jul 7, 2021 | News
On 22 and 23 June 2021 the ANPC hosted an online symposium on Orchid Conservation, which was attended by 575 registrants from across 37 countries. Eighteen speakers from Australia, the UK, South Africa, Germany and Hong Kong shared their research and experiences. Topics included orchid pollination, germination and translocation. We learned about new techniques and technologies including camera traps, as well as illegal orchid harvesting. Over one year since the 2019/20 fires, we heard about the effects of fire on orchid populations. We were treated to stunning photos of orchids across the globe including the Kimberley, where new species are still being discovered. A volunteer’s eye view was presented and encouraged people to get involved in orchid conservation in their region. The ANPC would like to say thanks to all the speakers for preparing such interesting talks, to the Australian Government’s Wildlife and Habitat Bushfire Recovery Program for funding both this Symposium and the larger project it is part of and the project leads, Ryan Philips, Noushka Reiter and Dan Duval. Also, a huge thank you to the ANPC’s Project Manager Lucy Commander, for seamlessly running both days, a tremendous effort! Recordings of some talks will be made available, more details to come.
Jul 7, 2021 | News
We are proud to announce the launch of the third edition of ‘Plant Germplasm Conservation in Australia – strategies and guidelines for developing, managing and utilising ex situ collections’ (also known as the Germplasm Guidelines). The launch will be held online during the Australian Seed Science Conference. We’d also like to invite everyone to the Australian Academy of Science Fenner Conference on the Environment: Exceptional times, exceptional plants. This free, online event will be held during the Australian Seed Science Conference in September (note: you do not need to attend the entire conference to register for the Fenner Conference). For more information and to register head to https://seedscience2021.com.au/fenner-conference/
Featured image: Bree Phillips, a Flora Conservation Officer with Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions in WA. She is seen collecting Jacksonia velveta (Collie Jacksonia), a species which is listed as Endangered in WA as well as under the EPBC act. Image by Andrew Crawford.
May 3, 2021 | News
Updates for the third edition of the Germplasm Guidelines are going well, with reviewer comments recently addressed by chapter working groups. Thanks to all those involved in the review and writing process! External reviews will begin shortly. Production of the ‘Plant Treasures’ video series funded by The Ian Potter Foundation is underway, with producer Chantelle Doyle and videographer Michael Lawrence-Taylor engaged to help spread the key messages of the Germplasm Guidelines. The video series will include interviews with chapter authors and footage of ex situ conservation processes in action. Planning is also underway for the launch of the Guidelines at the virtual Australasian Seed Science Conference on 6-10 September 2021.
May 3, 2021 | News
A backload of workshop enquiries from last year has resulted in a number of ANPC workshops and field days locked in for this financial year. There has already been one seed collection workshop delivered for Hay Landcare/ Riverina LLS in February with planned propagation, direct seeding and regeneration workshops to follow. There are also seven field walk plant identification and management workshops at various locations across far west NSW planned between Central and Western LLS over two weeks in May and another series proposed in August. Keep an eye out for these workshops which will be promoted as soon as we finalise times and locations.
Apr 29, 2021 | News
A national meeting of more than 200 scientists and government, industry and community representatives has issued a Statement of Concern on Myrtle Rust, with a call for individuals and organisations to add their signatures. The Statement is directed to all Australian governments, and calls on them to endorse and fund a national action plan for this introduced plant disease.
In late March more than 200 scientists and government, industry and community representatives met in Ballina NSW to discuss the introduced plant disease Myrtle Rust, a growing threat to Australian native plants and ecosystems. The ANPC has been active on Myrtle Rust since 2011, and was a partner in organising the symposium.
More than ten years after the arrival of Myrtle Rust in Australia, there is still no coordinated and funded national response. In those years, the list of Australian species known to be capable of infection has grown to nearly 400 species. Five species are known to be in catastrophic decline, including two that were, before 2010, common along the east coast but are now listed as Critically Endangered due to Myrtle Rust. It is estimated that a further 40+ species are at high risk ‒ they all need urgent field assessment and germplasm conservation as a precursor to future recovery actions.
In the absence of an adequate national response by governments, the community of scientists and conservation practitioners active on the issue have evolved a National Action Plan for Myrtle Rust (www.apbsf.org.au, also at https://www.anpc.asn.au/myrtle-rust). This is a practical, science-based framework for the urgent actions needed to prevent extinctions, and to lay the basis for possible future recovery. The National Action Plan is already shaping research and action priorities for some institutions and State agencies.
But the Action Plan remains unfunded, and without formal endorsement by any government agencies.
“We face irreversible damage to our natural heritage and a permanent loss of biological resources if action is not taken”, says Bob Makinson, ANPC’s representative on the Symposium organising group and a co-author of the Action Plan. “This other, silent pandemic needs a nationally coordinated response and a basic level of resourcing. The Statement of Concern seeks to focus the attention of governments on this threat. We need signatures from concerned people, and especially from organisations in the science, conservation, Indigenous, and natural resource management areas. We ask all concerned individuals to bring the Statement to the attention of the peak committees of such organisations as soon as possible, and seek their endorsement of it.”
The Statement of Concern is open for signatures (organisational and individual) at https://www.apbsf.org.au/myrtle-rust/
Further information on Myrtle Rust is available at https://www.anpc.asn.au/myrtle-rust/
