WHY ATTEND?

The Queensland Pest Animal Symposium 2012 will be held from 30 July - 2 August 2012 at Sunshine Coast Function Centre, Caloundra, Queensland.

The Symposium program will consist of presentations on community initiatives, policy matters, new innovations, the latest research and harvesting techniques. A Field trip will also be held on Wednesday, 1 August 2012 to showcase pest issues.

The Conference will focus on ‘Adapting pest animal management to a changing world’ and will address the key areas of:

1. How environmental extremes affect pest management

Our recent weather patterns have been ‘droughts and flooding rains’ with the added cyclone for variety. How do these extremes affect pest animal populations and their impacts? How can environmental extremes be utilised for effective pest animal control.

2. Adapting pest animal management to changing land use

As land use changes, pest animal management must change accordingly. Land use changes encompass shifts in agricultural or farming practices, urbanisation of rural areas, the introduction of mining or manufacturing to rural areas and reclamation and reforestation of areas for biodiversity. Pest animal management should be proactive. This session will explore predictive and pre-emptive management, integrated pest animal management and pest animal management to protect endangered species and ecosystems.

3. Advances in pest management - new technologies, legislation and partnerships

Improvements in pest management include new devices, new toxins or baits, and new biocontrol agents. Management can also be improved with better application of existing control methods. This session will cover new technologies and their practical application. Changes to legislation will also hopefully be discussed in this subtheme. New partnerships among pest managers have also been profitable and will be examined here.

4. Pests other than mammals

While we are all familiar with the impacts of feral pigs, wild dogs, rabbits and other mammals, there are an increasing number of non-mammalian pests in Queensland. This subtheme will cover the management of impacts of any non-mammalian pest such as Asian honey bees, red imported fire ants, Indian mynas, carp, and cane toads.

5. Prioritisation in Pest Animal Control

Pest managers are invariably constrained by available resources. This means that those resources need to be applied as effectively and efficiently as possible. Prioritising the locations and species for control has thus become an important exercise for management. In particular, the role of risk assessment and cost benefit analysis are vital. Improvements and new approaches to prioritisation in pest animal control and their application will be the focus of this subtheme.

6. Social factors influencing pest animal control

Social factors influencing pest animal control include animal welfare and rights, cultural beliefs, indigenous issues, social attitudes, political agendas and the social impacts of pest animals. Local governments are often the interface between social factors and their influence on pest control, which can change over time and across geographic location. This broad subtheme will cover the significant repercussions that social factors have on pest animal control.

WHO WILL BE ATTENDING?

The aim of the Symposium is to bring people involved in pest animal management together from all parts of Queensland and throughout Australia to network with other like-minded people, including, but not limited to:

• Local government Pest Officers and Councillors
• Landowners and Managers
• Agribusiness and Utility Providers, including Power, Rail, Roads and Water
• State Government agencies, including Forestry, DERM, Biosecurity Queensland and QPIF
• Australian Government agencies staff including, AQIS, Department of Defence and DAFF
• NRM Bodies
• Social factors influencing pest animal control.
• Landcare & Agforce Members
• Researchers and students involved in pest management
• Contractors and Community Project Officers

Ample time will be scheduled for networking and discussion during breaks in the program and during the social program, which will consist of a Welcome Reception and Symposium Dinner.

An attendance of 150 - 250 delegates is anticipated over the three days of the Symposium.

DESTINATION

Caloundra stretches across 1102 square kilometres from the mountains to the sea. Caloundra occupies a highly favoured location in the richly productive and progressive south-east corner of Queensland. It is the southern gateway to the Sunshine Coast, one of Queensland's leading tourist destinations, and is easily accessible by road, rail and air. Caloundra is one of the fastest growing cities in Australia with an annual growth rate of 4.2%, equating to an increase of 3,470 people in the year ending 20 June 2004.

Caloundra is located at the southern end of Queensland’s beautiful Sunshine Coast, only an hour’s drive north of Brisbane. This makes the destination very accessible for participants coming from elsewhere in Australia and overseas. Caloundra and its surrounding region stretch from the cool green of the hinterland mountains to the crisp blue and white of the ocean and beaches.

Source: http://www.caloundratourism.com.au/conferences-meetings.html