Update on and future of the World Catalogue of Agents and their Target Weeds
Facilitators: Hariet Hinz (CABI Switzerland) and other members of the IOBC Classical Weed Biocontrol Working Group along with virtual attendance of Rachel Winston, Michael Day and/or Mark Schwarzländer
Key question and/or issue
The World Catalogue of Agents and Their Target Weeds (hereafter referred to as the Catalogue) represents the most authoritative and comprehensive global repository documenting biological control introductions against invasive weeds. It provides detailed records of each agent release, including establishment success, subsequent spread, impact, and factors influencing establishment or control efficacy. Additionally, it documents instances of non-target effects and serves as a foundational resource for retrospective analyses—such as exploring correlations between agent and target traits and control outcomes. Beyond serving as a critical tool for scientists and biocontrol practitioners, the Catalogue also serves as a vital resource for educating the public, informing policy makers, and addressing concerns raised by critics of weed biocontrol.
A recent update of the Catalogue has been successfully completed, led by Rachel Winston (MIA Consulting, USA) and Michael Day (formerly of the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Australia), with essential contributions from numerous biocontrol practitioners worldwide. This recent effort was primarily supported by the U.S. Forest Service, with supplementary funding provided by MWLR (now BSI), CABI, and CSIRO.
Looking ahead, sustained funding will be critical—not only to ensure regular updates—but also to enhance the Catalogue’s accessibility through a more intuitive and user-friendly interface. In addition, expanding the dataset to include additional parameters, such as agent and target traits or site/habitat specific impact data, would significantly increase its analytical value and utility for both research and practical application.
Preliminary summary information from the recent update will be presented, including release and establishment statistics, the time spent to complete the update, and ideas of potential funding sources. Our expectation is that participants in the workshop will have a genuine interest in the Catalogue and will provide additional ideas how to support it.
This workshop has three key objectives:
- Present a preliminary overview of the newly completed update of the Catalogue.
- Explore strategies to ensure its long-term financial sustainability
- Identify concrete actions to secure the necessary resources for its continued development and maintenance.
Background information
The first comprehensive global record of classical biological control releases targeting invasive weeds was compiled in the early 1980s (Julien, 1982). This pioneering effort documented the species of biological control agents introduced for each weed target, along with the dates and countries of introduction, and included assessments of control efficacy. Supported by CSIRO (staff time and printing) and CABI (printing), the Catalogue was subsequently revised, expanded, and printed at approximately five-year intervals until 1998 (Julien, 1987; 1992; Julien & Griffiths, 1998).
Because the data were directly contributed by weed biocontrol researchers, the Catalogue is widely regarded as more accurate and complete than other compilations. Over time, it has become the globally trusted reference for release records and the principal citation in the field of weed biological control. Following a 16-year hiatus, a fifth edition of the Catalogue was published in 2014, with financial support from the U.S. Forest Service (Winston et al., 2014). This edition also marked a significant milestone in accessibility, as the data were made available online via https://ibiocontrol.org/tools/catalog/. The online version has subsequently been updated at infrequent intervals, with financial support primarily from the U.S. Forest Service and supplementary funding provided by the University of Idaho, CBC, BSI-MWLR, and CABI. The most recent update was completed in 2020.
Each successive edition of the Catalogue has served not only as a record of biological control activities but also as a basis for evaluating patterns of success and failure.