Stopping Miconia Calvescens (the purple plague) is not an easy task and requires a lot of effort. Miconia would harm the Australian environment if left unmanaged.
The Department of Primary Industry QLD (DAF QLD) has provided Rous County Council (the LCA of the North Coast of NSW) with funds as part of the National Tropical Weeds Eradication Program 2024-2028 (started in 2002). Its aim is to reduce management areas under active control and to have a national consistent approach to these tropical weeds.
The Rous team is part of a $25 million National Program. The program is managed by Biosecurity Queensland and funded by the Australian, State and Territory governments. It targets five weed species native to Central and South America: Limnocharis flava, Miconia calvescens, Miconia nervosa, Miconia racemosa and Mikania micrantha.
Rous has been able to employ a specialized team for this arduous task to search, map, report and destroy any Miconia found in the North Coast of NSW.
The program conducts extensive surveillance and control activities across national parks and the Sub Tropics World Heritage Area to eradicate these species. Working with local property owners and state collaborators to protect the substantial natural values of tropical rainforests and wetlands.
Within the first 6 months of the project Rous County Council received a report of a mature and flowering Miconia plant in Lennox Head and found a naturalized specimen along the Brunswick River in Mullumbimby.
Using mapping modelling for suitable habitats and historical data from local knowledge, Rous County Council have been undertaking inspections of large areas of land on foot as well as using aerial surveillance to access areas that are hard to reach. Rous has been and will continue to engage with the community to create awareness for the duration of the program.