Council wins international award with mosquito mapping project
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A Redlands Coast mosquito mapping project has received international recognition, winning a 2020 GO SMART Award.
The joint project, between Redland City Council and global Taiwanese tech giant MiTAC, will design a dashboard to map Redlands Coast mosquito treatment areas.
Mayor Karen Williams said the Smart Pest Management – Mosquito Monitoring and Treatment project was designed to be an effective tool to help understand mosquito breeding patterns and the management of mosquito volumes.
“This innovative technology complements Council’s Mosquito Management Action Plan 2019-2024, which includes focusing on using the latest technology and equipment to increase surveillance and understanding of mosquito populations and locations across the city,” Cr Williams said.
Council officer monitors mosquito population with light trap
“This data will allow Council to effectively target treatment at peak times and locations within the breeding process.
“The dashboard aims to provide a more targeted treatment program for Redlands Coast and reduce the time officers spend in isolated areas.”
Cr Williams said the Smart Pest Management tool would gather real-time tidal inundation information from Council’s sensor network and integrate it with MiTAC’s Cloud Platform.
“The resulting dashboard can then inform Council’s decisions on mosquito management,” Cr Williams said.
“The project is currently in the proof-of-concept phase, incorporating 10 years of modelling.
“The proof-of-concept, if implemented, would allow the resulting mapping and data to target smaller isolated areas with drone mosquito treatment, possibly replacing quad bikes and amphibious vehicles.”
Regional Mosquito Management Group chairman Cr Paul Golle said the GO SMART award was recognition that Redland City Council was committed to treating mosquito breeding areas.
“The Redlands Coast environment is impacted by both freshwater and saltmarsh mosquito species,” Cr Golle said.
“Breeding areas are found across the entire Redlands Coast, including the Southern Moreton Bay Islands and smaller uninhabited islands.
“Mosquitoes pose a significant public health risk as they are able to transmit diseases such as Ross River virus, Barmah Forest virus and Kunjin.
“On average, each year the city treats 9500ha of breeding areas via ground and aerial applications, targeting mosquitoes in their larval form.
“Regular surveillance is also undertaken to monitor mosquito species and their activity levels.” The GO SMART award followed a Local Government Association of Queensland delegation, which was led by Cr Williams, to the Smart Cities Mayoral Summit in Taipei in 2019.