Invasive Alien Species
Invasive Species are animals and plants that are introduced accidently or deliberately into a place where they are not normally found. They represent a serious threat to native plants and animals in Europe which needs to be addressed if the EU is to achieve its goal of halting the decline of biodiversity by 2010.
 Commission Communication "Towards an EU Strategy on Invasive Species"
The Commission adopted on 3 December 2008 a Communication presenting policy options for an EU Strategy on Invasive Species.
In the Communication the Commission
- examines the evidence regarding the ecological, economical and social impact of invasive species in Europe,
- analyses the effectiveness of the current legal situation for tackling this problem and
- describes 4 possible options for a future EU strategy.
In addition the Commission highlights measures that can be put in place immediately, including a Europe-wide early warning system to report on new and emerging species.
Feed back from stakeholders and other EU Institutions will be taken into account by the Commission in selecting amongst those options and developing the EU Strategy on Invasive Species, planned for 2010.
"Towards an EU Strategy on Invasive Species"
- Impact Assessment
 (pdf ~2,5Mb)
- Impact Assessment – Executive Summary
                     (pdf ~50K)
Press Release: "Commission presents policy options for EU Strategy on Invasive Species"
Video News Release: "Invasive Species"
Results of Public Consultation on YOUR VOICE "Invasive Alien Species - A European Concern"
The recent public consultation on the problem of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) which ran from March until May, attracted 880 replies, three quarters of them from individuals.
The survey reveals widespread backing for action at EU level on invasive alien species:
- Some 91% of respondents agreed on the urgent need to bring in new measures to prevent the spread of such organisms, with 85% agreeing on the importance of preventing the introduction of IAS in the wild.
- An EU-wide early warning system would be welcomed by 90% of respondents, and 86% thought that Member States should be legally obliged to take action against the most harmful IAS.
- Most respondents (90%) considered that the lack of public awareness would constitute a barrier to launching more stringent policies, and that it was therefore important to raise the profile of the issue (77%).
The results of the consultation will now be used to help develop EU policy in this area, and inform the Communication from the Commission to be presented at the end of this year.
• Background documents
- Discussion Paper (paper developed jointly by Member State representatives, Stakeholders and Commission Services)
- Biological Invasions in Europe: Drivers, Pressures, States, Impacts and Responses (scientific publication)
- Grasping at the routes of biological invasions: a framework for integrating pathways into policy (scientific publication)
- A pan-European inventory of alien species: rationale, implementation and implications for managing biological invasions (deliverable of the RTD project DAISIE)
- New electronic journal "Aquatic Invasions": an important part of the developing European early warning system on aquatic invasive species (deliverable of the RTD project ALARM)
More information on invasive alien species
European
Conference on Invasive Alien Species,
15-16 January 2008, Madrid, Spain
Invasive Alien Species (IAS) represent a
serious threat to biodiversity which needs to be addressed
if the EU is to attain its goal "to halt the decline
of biodiversity by 2010". The 6th
Environmental Action Programme and the recent Communication
from the Commission on Halting the Loss of Biodiversity by
2010 and Beyond and its associated Action Plan highlight
action on IAS as a priority objective. At the same time IAS
represent not only threat to biodiversity, but cause also
significant economic damages. The threat of IAS has been recognised at
global level. The
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at the 6th Conference
of the Parties in 2002 adopted 15 Guiding Principles for the
prevention, introduction and mitigation of impacts of alien
species that threaten ecosystems, habitats or species in its
Decision VI/23 on Alien species that threaten ecosystems,
habitats or species. At Pan-European level, a ‘European Strategy
on Invasive Alien Species’ was adopted under the Bern Convention
in 2003. At EU level there is a number of on-going
actions with direct relevance of IAS:
- SEBI
2010 project (Streamlining European 2010 Biodiversity
Indicators) is developing a set of biodiversity indicators,
including indicators concerning IAS.
- The 6th Framework Programme on research is currently
funding 2 projects concerning IAS – DAISIE
(Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe)
and ALARM
(Assessing LArge-scale Risks for biodiversity with tested
Methods).
The Commission financed a study "Scope
options for EU action on invasive alien species" in 2006,
which identified gaps in the current legislative and policy
system, and provided recommendations for action at the EU
level. One of the main results of the study was the recognition
that most areas for action are issues of shared competence
between the Community and the Member States. In the study
it was also recommended to develop an EU strategy on IAS.
The European Commission is developing an
EU strategy on IAS in accordance with policy recommendations
of the Communication and of the EU institutions (e.g. Council,
EP).
More informationEU
biodiversity action plan More
on IAS at European Community Clearing House Mechanism |
