In a combined submission, Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board with the Indigenous Desert Alliance and the Arid Lands Environment Centre nominated buffel grass as a weed of national significance (WoNS) in the recent review process. This nomination was supported by an open letter of support signed by 83 organisations from all states and the Northern Territory.
Buffel grass is considered an ecological transformer weed as it impacts on the structure and composition of plant and animal communities.
“Buffel grass is a crisis that needs our immediate attention,” AW’s Buffel Grass State Coordinator Troy Bowman says. “A national approach is critical to limit its spread, to mitigate the damage already done to Country, and to prevent a further increase in the risk of fire to Australian communities.”
Listing buffel grass as a WoNS would ensure a national management plan to guide and strengthen the efforts of teams in affected regions while enabling pastoralists in various states to continue to grow the grass for fodder.
