Making the EU Legislation on Invasive Species a Conservation Success

Abstract

The European Union's (EU) new legislation concerning Invasive Alien Species (IAS) is a ground-breaking and commendable attempt to set a common standard for combating IAS across political jurisdictions at a multinational scale. However, the regulation, underpinned by a list of IAS of Union concern, affords Member States a degree of operational flexibility and its successful implementation will be dictated by appropriate national enforcement and resource use. In evaluating this EU legislation, we provide pragmatic recommendations based upon a geo-political analysis of the pan-European capabilities to combat IAS and discuss measures to avoid the risk that the regulation will promote a piecemeal response by stakeholders instead of a truly collaborative effort. We highlight a major deficit in the funding mechanisms to support a comprehensive implementation of the legislation and stress the importance of consultation with the broader scientific community, including with key stakeholders, businesses and the general public. Our recommendations will create incentives for industries, raise awareness among citizens and stakeholders, and help establish a social norm for the EU and further afield. The legislation offers a collaborative Europe the chance to demonstrate its commitment to tackling the problems of IAS and to achieve a successful conservation breakthrough of international importance.

Beyond protocols: improving the reliability of expert-based risk analysis underpinning invasive species policies

“…For example, the legislation underpinning the EU black list mandates quality control as a minimum standard for risk assessment and an independent scientific forum to check this requirement (Tollington et al 2015). Two approaches could potentially improve the way risk assessments are commonly conducted for IAS.…”

“…Moreover, from a practical point of view, performing shared assessments can provide a basis for management at an international level as different governments conclude on similar risk score for the same target species and are thus likely to manage invasions at a similar level of urgency. Indeed, acquiring a more streamlined approach towards cross-border management of IAS is an important objective of the EU IAS Regulation (Tollington et al 2015).…”

“…control or eradication) and pathways should be put in place (Aichi Target 9; https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets). Legal instruments have been established to meet this target, such as the recent European Union IAS Regulation 1143/2014 (European Union 2014; Genovesi et al 2014;Tollington et al 2015), that targets IAS through trade restrictions, border controls, targeted surveillance, rapid response, management and restoration obligations. These measures rely heavily on listing of high impact IAS underpinned by comprehensive risk assessments.…”

Scientific and Normative Foundations for the Valuation of Alien-Species Impacts: Thirteen Core Principles

“…For instance, several EU member states have linked their support of the legislation with the commitment of the European Commission that alien species that are economically important in their country will not be included in the "List of Invasive Alien Species of Union Concern, " which is the central instrument of the legislation. For instance, Hungary, the country with the largest stands of black locust trees in Europe, requested that this species should not be listed, and Denmark, home to a major fur industry, did the same for the American mink (Tollington et al 2015). More generally, stakeholders representing several sectors have articulated the view that, according to their principles of valuing alien-species impacts, benefits of several species are of overriding public interest and that they should not be regulated by EU legislation.…”

The prioritisation of a short list of alien plants for risk analysis within the framework of the Regulation (EU) No. 1143/2014

“…1143/2014) 'on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species' which came into force on the 1 st January 2015 (EU 2014, Tollington et al 2015. The EU Regulation, hereafter referred to as the IAS Regulation, aims to primarily address the negative impact of IAS on biodiversity and ecosystem services, while impacts on human health and the economy are considered as aggravating factors.…”