.png)
A workshop to collaboratively develop scenarios of invasive species management for Europe #invasive_species #co-development #Europe #List_Concern
AlienScenarios (https://alien-scenarios.org) and InvasiBES (http://elabs.ebd.csic.es/web/invasibes/) are two new, EU-funded research projects under the joint Belmont Forum-BiodivERsA Call on “Scenarios of biodiversity and ecosystem services” (https://www.biodiversa.org/1360) with the support of the European Commission. They strive to improve our understanding of the effects of invasive alien species on biodiversity and, in particular, on ecosystem services, and improve our conception of possible developments in the future.
A central component of these two projects is the development of scenarios for the future management of invasive alien species in collaboration with stakeholders from different disciplines and sectors in order to integrate their perspectives and suggestions. To this end, both projects together organize a workshop in Girona, Spain, 1-3 April 2020. In the workshop, we will collaboratively develop management scenarios for Europe, including an assessment of the consequences of different levels of implementation of management policies, in particular the EU regulation on invasive alien species (No. 1143/2014).
Scientific background
The future trajectories of biological invasions and the prospects of managing alien species are characterized by high levels of uncertainty. This is due to the multiple factors driving invasions (Le Maitre et al. 2004), the limited knowledge how they may change in the future, and how alien species management and policies may unfold. Such factors include political decisions that constrain the implementation of legislation, socio-economic developments that affect propagule pressure, and the degree of coordination between stakeholders (political, scientific, businesses and public communities) (Tollington et al. 2016). Evaluating how the management of biological invasions might unfold in the future is an important, yet so far rarely undertaken task (but see Le Maitre et al. 2004, Roura-Pascual et al. 2011). This can best be achieved by developing consistent invasion storylines, similarly to the work undertaken for other components of global environmental change, such as climate change (Moss et al. 2010, IPCC 2013). These storylines provide a clear understanding of the potential consequences of global change for the environment and society, but also permit to examine the future implications of different responses. Such a scenario-based approach for constructing long-term trajectories for the management of biological invasions, linked to the socioeconomic storylines developed in global change science, is currently lacking.
Objectives
The objective of our research mission is to develop continental-scale (Europe) scenarios of the management of biological invasions based on an interdisciplinary approach that provide realistic guidelines for best practices, and to communicate these new tools and knowledge to policy makers and practitioners to enhance their implementation.
Methods
We will use scenario planning to construct plausible futures for managing IAS in Europe. It is a group process that encourages knowledge exchange and, by identifying the multiple drivers of change and constructing a number of diverging “storylines” by extrapolating uncertain but influential driving forces, will develop a deeper understanding of the issues (Schwartz, 1991). In constructing these “storylines”, the results of a global workshop on global scenarios for biological invasions (Vienna, 6-7 October 2016) will be taken into account. However, while the focus of the previous workshop was on the future status and impact of IAS on a global scale, here we are interested in developing a refined set of scenarios that explore the future management of IAS on the EU level. This will be done via a scenario-planning workshop with key stakeholders in the EU management of IAS. Major stakeholders are global institutions, such as IPBES, Future Earth, GEOBON and IUCN, and regional institutions, such as DG Environment of the EU (responsible for implementing the EU regulation on invasive alien species), the European Environment Agency (responsible for environmental assessment and reporting in the EU), and the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization EPPO (responsible for risk assessments and notification of alien agricultural pests). Constructing these exploratory scenarios will transparently widen our perception of possible future outcomes and events that may not be immediately obvious (Korte & Chermack, 2007). Furthermore, we hope to identify the most crucial information and tools required to reach these preferred futures, and thereby give direction to future scientific research.
Benefits and outcomes of the workshop
- Advance our knowledge of the future plausible ranges of the relevant drivers affecting the management of biological invasions at the European level. - Produce a scientific paper presenting the outcomes of the workshop. - Establish a network of researchers interested in the future management of biological invasions, to continue the work initiated at the workshop.
Comments