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dgAlert for Environment and Development

http://topics.developmentgateway.org/environment/rc/ItemDetail.do?itemId=1103559

Council of Europe

www.coe.int

http://www.coe.int/t/e/cultural_co-operation/environment/nature_and_biological_diversity/Nature_protection/IASnews_2007_en.asp#TopOfPage

The Council of Europe acts against Invasive Alien Species, a Major Threat to Biological Diversity

The Bern Convention Group of experts on Invasive Alien Species met in Reykjavik, Iceland, from 22 to 24 May 2007. Invasive Alien Species have recently gained notoriety on the grounds of the severe damage they cause to species and ecosystems. They are commonly defined as alien or non-native species which alter the ecosystem’s processes and represent a threat to the survival of native wildlife species present in the natural ecosystems, or which provoke economic damage to farmland and other cultivated land. The Bern Convention Group of experts, which meets every two years, has become the main governmental European forum for discussing problems related to Invasive Alien Species, for proposing new approaches and precise action and for assessing the progress made by governments in implementing appropriate policies.

The Group of experts created in 1992, has been, since its origin, interested in the legal aspects of the introduction and re-introduction of wildlife species in order to harmonise the national regulations on introduced species. With the adoption by the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention in 2003 of the European strategy on Invasive Alien Species which asked governments to draw up and implement national strategies on invasive alien species, the work of the group of experts continued the development and the implementation of co-ordinated measures and co-operative efforts across Europe to try to limit the adverse impacts of invasive alien species on Europe’s biodiversity, as well as their consequences for the economy and human health and well-being.