Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

Transboundary cooperation of countries is necessary to tackle invasive alien species, which pose major threats to native species, habitats and ecosystems and generate annual costs estimated at over US$ 13.7 billion annually [ ] 104 The role of regulation in combating invasive alien species The core of the Regulation is the list of relevant Invasive Alien Species (IAS). Species can be included on the list on the basis of a risk assessment and only if they fulfil a number of criteria set out by the regulation. The list currently contains 23 plant and 26 animal species and an additional 30 risk assessments are in various stages of approval in view of the second update of the list, expected in 2019. Species on the list have to be alien to the territory of the EU, capable of establishing and spreading and likely to have significant adverse impacts on biodiversity or the related ecosystem services, or on human health or the economy. A risk assessment must demonstrate that action at the EU level is required. Moreover, the inclusion on the list should likely prevent, minimize or mitigate these adverse impacts. Both the European Commission and the Member States can propose species for inclusion on the Union list, based on a risk assessment. Those proposals are submitted to a Scientific Forum made up of representatives of the scientific community appointed by the Member States, which provides an opinion on whether the risk as- sessment is robust and fit for purpose, according to an agreed procedure The European Alien Species Information Network facilitates the implementation of the EU policy on IAS. The EU supports implementa- tion of this law through a range of financial instruments, such as the ru- ral development and cohesion funds, and the EU’s financial instrument for the environment, LIFE. The European Strategy on Invasive Alien Species received endorsement as recommen- dation No. 99 of 2003 by the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention on European Wildlife and Natural Habitats in line with Decision COP VI/23 and the annexed guiding prin- ciples on IAS. The EU-funded project, Delivering Alien Invasive Species In Europe (DAISIE), provided a one-stop- shop for information on biological invasions in Europe. It was a pivotal instrument in developing a Eu- rope-wide strategy that encompasses the geographical scale of the problem and unites the study of different taxa in marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments. In 2008 the European Com- mission issued a communication titled Towards an EU Strategy on Invasive Species, which examined the evidence regarding the ecolog- ical, economic and social impact of invasive species in Europe, analysed the effectiveness of the current legal situation, and described four possible options for a future EU strategy. In formulating its policy, the European Commission has sought citizens’ and stakeholders’ views on IAS and on the specific choices to be made when setting up dedicated legislation on invasive species. I n the European Union there are over 14,000 alien species, of which up to 15 per cent are invasive. Transboundary cooperation of countries is necessary to tackle the threats to native species, habitats and ecosystems, which generate annual costs estimated at over US$ 13.7 billion annually. The Convention on Biodiversity has triggered biodiversity- related action to this end through the recent adoption of the EU Invasive Alien Species Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council. Adopted in 2014, this law is directly applicable in all the 28 EU Member States. Plitvice Lakes, Plitvička Jezera, Croatia Robert V. Ruggiero on Unsplash European Union