INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF RODENTS - A SOUTHEAST-ASIAN AND AUSTRALIAN PERSPECTIVE

This paper discusses the concept of integrated pest management (IPM) a nd considers the progress that has been made towards effective impleme ntation of IPM for rodent pests in agricultural systems in Southeast A sia and Australia. Unfortunately, progress with the management of rode nts lags considerably behind IPM for insect pests and diseases of crop s. Too often, recommended management practices lack scientific rigour, instead they are based on frequent reiteration of a concept which res ults in it being accepted as dogma. From a rodent management perspecti ve, IPM in these regions is better described as perceived integrated m anagement (PIM). Two case studies, one from Southeast Asia and one fro m Australia, are presented to demonstrate how replicated, manipulative field experiments with appropriate controls can redress this situatio n. The first study is on the rice field rat in West Java. The second s tudy is on mouse plagues in southeastern Australia. In each case, the IPM programs are built around detailed descriptive studies of the popu lation ecology of the pest species. The challenge lies ahead for roden t wildlife managers to not only develop effective rodent IPM but also to integrate these management actions with existing IPM programs of no n-mammalian pests. From the perspective of a wildlife biologist, other pressing challenges for establishing effective and sustained control of rodents in Southeast Asia, were identified. These were the lack of appropriate tertiary training in wildlife management, the weak infra-s tructure for research on rodent pests, and the need to develop effecti ve extension for programs on the management of rodents.