Biosecurity Atlas

MAF's Biosecurity Atlas

Biosecurity surveillance is vital by helping to detect pests and diseases before they can become established in New Zealand. Early detection protects the economy, environment and people from impacts associated with the introduction of pests and diseases. Some surveillance programmes also support New Zealand’s status as free from specific pests and diseases.

However, biosecurity surveillance is largely unseen or not well known. This is because most people are not aware of what surveillance is and what types of programmes are conducted. Effective surveillance is often hard to appreciate because it is not possible to prove the absence of a pest or disease is the result of that programme, even when the likelihood of its becoming established would otherwise be very high.

MAF’s biosecurity surveillance activities are extensive with a budget of several million dollars per year and stretch across the country collecting or trapping many thousands of samples annually. So the Atlas of Biosecurity Surveillance serves as a user interface to MAF’s biosecurity surveillance activities, demonstrating the breadth and depth of surveillance across the animal, plant, environment and marine sectors.

Click here to download a copy of MAF's Biosecurity Atlas Surveillance May-2011.

Text and Biosecutiry Atlas credited to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry - 2011.