{{Short description|Australian government agency}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} The '''Australian Plague Locust Commission''' (APLC) is a joint venture of the Australian Government and the member states of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland, created in 1974 to manage outbreaks of the [[Australian plague locust]], the [[spur-throated locust]] and the [[migratory locust]] in eastern [[Australia]].<ref name="Role">{{cite web|url=http://www.daff.gov.au/animal-plant-health/locusts/role |title=Role of the Australian Plague Locust Commission |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=14 June 2011 |website=Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia |accessdate=8 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715013827/http://daff.gov.au/animal-plant-health/locusts/role |archivedate=15 July 2014 }}</ref> With 19 staff members at its headquarters in [[Canberra]] and field offices in [[Narromine]], [[Broken Hill, New South Wales|Broken Hill]] and [[Longreach, Queensland|Longreach]], it is jointly funded by the Commonwealth government and by the Australian states of [[New South Wales]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], [[South Australia]] and [[Queensland]].

==Activities== The APLC conducts regular surveys of locust populations and migrations and carries out control of locust outbreaks by means of aerial application of [[pesticide]]s;<ref name="Role"/> traditionally these were chemicals, but more recently APLC has been a major contributor to the development of a [[biological pesticide]] in collaboration with [[CSIRO]] and [[LUBILOSA]] scientists. It also conducts educational outreach and training courses for landowners, businesses, and local governments, including international consulting work in [[Asia]], [[Africa]] and [[South America]].

Responsibility to control limited outbreaks of the pest species resides with the states. The APLC undertakes and coordinates activities when species migrate or have the potential to migrate across state borders and subsequently cause damage to agriculture in more than one of the member states.<ref name="pofcap">{{cite book |title=Pests of Field Crops and Pastures: Identification and Control |last=Walker |first=Paul |author2=D. Hunter |author3=R. Elder |chapter=Locusts and Grasshoppers of Pastures and Rangelands |editor1-last=Bailey |editor1-first=PT |year=2007 |publisher=Csiro Publishing |isbn=978-0643099425 |page=485 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=izWZ8-YP4hoC |accessdate=17 September 2014}}</ref> The establishment of the APLC allowed for the first use of [[remote sensing|remotely sensed]] data to forecast locust populations in Australia.<ref name="imo">{{cite book |title=Integrated Management of Arthropod Pests and Insect Borne Diseases |chapter=Locust Habitat Monitoring and Risk Assessment Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques |last=Latchininsky |first=Alexandre V. |author2=Ramesh Sivanpillai |editor1-last=Ciancio |editor1-first=Aurelio |editor2-last=Mukerji |editor2-first=K. G. |year=2010 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-9048186068 |page=180 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JYhEAAAAQBAJ |accessdate=17 September 2014}}</ref>

In 2010, the APLC together with the states identified the potential for a significant infestation of the Australian plague locust. A coordinated effort to minimise damage was undertaken. The activities were estimated to have saved $963&nbsp;million from an expenditure of $50&nbsp;million.<ref name="ndaa">{{cite book |title=Natural Disasters and Adaptation to Climate Change |chapter=Afterward: Floods, Storms, Fire and Pestilence - Disaster Risk in Australia During 2010-2011 |last=Karole |first=David John |authorlink=David Karoly |author2=Sarah Boulter |editor1-last=Boulter |editor1-first=Sarah |editor2-last=Palutikof |editor2-first=Jean |editor3-last=Karoly |editor3-first=David John |editor4-last=Guitart |editor4-first=Daniela |year=2013 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1107511989 |pages=252–254 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yXwPAQAAQBAJ |accessdate=17 September 2014}}</ref>

==See also== {{Portal|Australia}} *[[Agriculture in Australia]]

== References == {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090116140230/http://www.daff.gov.au/animal-plant-health/locusts Australian Plague Locust Commission] * {{cite web | url=http://www.daf.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/55593/locusts.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417152351/http://www.daf.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/55593/locusts.pdf | archive-date=2021-04-17 | title=Locusts | website=[[Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (Queensland)|Department of Agriculture and Fisheries]], Queensland}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Commonwealth Government agencies of Australia]] [[Category:Locust swarms]] [[Category:1974 establishments in Australia]]

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