Category:WONS

In 1998, The Australian government endorsed a framework to identify which weed species could be considered WONS within an agricultural, forestry and environmental context.

States and territories nominated 71 weed species to be assessed and ranked under this framework. Four major criteria were used in determining WONS:

• the invasiveness of a weed species
• a weed's impacts
• the potential for spread of a weed
• socio-economic and environmental values.

Twenty WONS were identified through this process. The Australian Government and the state and territory governments then endorsed the final list in 1999.

This was the first attempt to prioritise weeds over a range of land uses at the national level. It is not a purely scientific process, but an attempt to draw together meaningful indicators on which to base future weed decision-making. It also provides a framework to prioritise weed management at the state, regional and local levels.

other weeds in our region