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Collaborative efforts heightened to protect Guam’s biodiversity

03rd January, 2017

Monday, 08 August 2016 10:42
SPC’s participation was also a response to the official invitation by the Office of the Governor of Guam requesting our assistance to prevent, mitigate and control the entry of invasive species from participating countries into Guam. A failure to implement strong biosecurity measures could lead to damage or loss of biodiversity, crops, native species and fauna, resulting in compromised trade between island countries.

SPC held meetings with Guam counterparts prior to the festival to discuss concerns and the need for a concerted and collective effort by all parties to minimize and mitigate potential incursions of invasive species into and out of the island.  Action and operation plans were put into place and implemented inland and across Guam’s borders.

In addition, it was also determined that lessons learned during the 12th FestPac should be documented for ease of reference, especially looking forward to the next event to be held in Hawaii in 2020.

Collaborative efforts between SPC biosecurity officers, the Guam Department of Agriculture’s Biosecurity Division and the Guam CQA to conduct surveillance and intercept potential invasive species and pests resulted in the successful mitigation of invasive species introduction and outbreak at the 2016 FestPac.

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