Invasive species in the Pacific pose significant challenges to Department of Defense (DoD) installations, including infrastructure damage, degradation of native vegetation, disruption to training operations, persistent maintenance issues, and geopolitical impacts. The DoD also incurs substantial costs targeting individual species, as traditional biosecurity methods typically address one species at a time.

This project aims to assess the effectiveness of three integrated, innovative biosecurity strategies – monitoring high-risk sites, deploying sentinel plants, and establishing biosecurity trails – within a unified Pacific-focused network. By overlapping these approaches, the network will address multiple high-risk invasive species simultaneously to reduce costs and mitigate impacts more effectively.

This project will focus on the three interlinked and novel approaches described above to strengthen biosecurity in the Pacific. The project team, representing researchers from throughout the Pacific, including areas of substantial U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) activity, will review, engage, evaluate, and make recommendations for the effective application of an island-centric biosecurity network for high-risk invasive plant pests and pathogens. The recommendations will take into account key stakeholder needs (for the military and the Pacific, more generally) and consider requirements for informative surveillance sites, necessary infrastructure (such as database hosting and diagnostic laboratories), key biosecurity threats, significant pathways (including transport, trade, and tourism), and appropriate surveillance and diagnostic tools (e.g., environmental DNA, digital apps). The project team will identify established current networks that may serve as hosts for high-risk surveillance. An effective high-risk surveillance network requires broad support from the Pacific biosecurity community and an understanding of subregional issues. The project team will undertake biosecurity consultations with key stakeholders to assess these needs. The major outcome of this project will be a report to INDOPACOM on the feasibility and potential effectiveness of an island-centric biosecurity network for high-risk invasive plant pests and pathogens in the Pacific.

Designing and promoting standard techniques like high-risk surveillance networks is a priority for Pacific biosecurity. Early detection enables eradication; tracks pest origins, spread, and speed; and supports effective mitigation. These networks also foster best practices and timely information sharing, benefiting DoD operations in the Pacific directly. Improved surveillance minimizes infrastructural and financial impacts and reduces inspection delays during military deployments. (Anticipated Project Completion - 2026)