Towards Improved Data Flows for the Management of Invasive Alien Species and Wildlife: A LIFE RIPARIAS use case

Abstract

Invasive alien species (IAS) are recognised as a major threat to biodiversity. To prevent the introduction and spread of IAS, the European Union Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 imposes an obligation on Member States to both develop management strategies for IAS of Union Concern and report on those interventions. For this, we need to collect and combine management data and streamline management actions. This is still a major challenge: the landscape of IAS management is diverse and includes different authorities, managers, businesses and non-governmental organizations. Some organizations have developed their own specific software applications for recording management actions. For other organizations, such a software system is lacking. Their management data are scattered, not harmonized, and often not openly available. For EU reporting, a workflow is needed to centralize all information about the applied management method, management effort, cost, effectiveness and impact of the performed actions on other biota or the environment. At this moment, such a workflow is lacking in Belgium. One of the aims of the LIFE RIPARIAS project is to set up a workflow for harmonizing IAS management data in Belgium. Based on the input from the IAS management community in Belgium, we were able to: draft a community-driven data model and exchange format called manIAS (MANagement of Invasive Alien Species, Reyserhove et al. 2022), and identify the minimal requirements a software application should have for being successfully used in the field (Hillaert et al. 2022). draft a community-driven data model and exchange format called manIAS (MANagement of Invasive Alien Species, Reyserhove et al. 2022), and identify the minimal requirements a software application should have for being successfully used in the field (Hillaert et al. 2022). In this presentation, we will explore both outputs, the lessons learned and the way forward. With our work, we aim to facilitate coordination and transfer of information between the different actors involved in IAS and wildlife management, not only on a Belgian scale, but also within an international context.