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Joining forces to tackle bioinvasions at global level
Invasive alien species (IAS) are one of the worst threats to the conservation and restoration of ecosystems of our times. Human mediated introductions of plants and animals into new environments caused and are causing massive environmental and economic losses. Globally, it is estimated that more than 1.4 trillion dollars are spent every year for mitigating their damages. More than a half of global extinctions are related to alien species.
Global problems require global solutions. Preventing and mitigating impacts of IAS thus requires international collaborations. Scientists, citizens and practitioners worldwide need to join their efforts to provide a solid scientific knowledge base underpinning best practices for managing IAS.
Therefore, LifeWatch Italy welcomes the recent launch of INVASIVESNET International Association for Open Knowledge on Invasive Alien Species (please visit the website www.invasivesnet.org and the page gathering the related publications).
LifeWatch Italy is indeed very active in this field of research, with its dedicated Virtual Research Environment and case study on Ecosystem vulnerability to Alien Species arrival, providing access to data resources and species lists, environmental and climatic data, and numerous other layers of information for the study of Alien Species distribution, including a Thesaurus for the definition of alien species, additional metadata, workflows, tools for statistical analysis, and on line services.
Likewise LifeWatch Italy, INVASIVESNET aims to strengthen scientific knowledge about biodiversity and provides tools to help better manage ecosystems. Both the network and the infrastructure can support each other in reaching this goal, sharing data, tools and activities, facilitating new collaborations and exchange of ideas and maximizing visibility.
INVASIVESNET facilitates access to high quality and open source knowledge and data on IAS, promoting global exchange of information among those involved in research and management. The International Council, led by Francis Lucy, consists of internationally renowned experts from five continents, and INVASIVESNET members include individuals and organisations.
Lastly, INVASIVESNET offers discounted article processing charges to their members for publishing in one of the open access journals of the Association (Aquatic Invasion IF 1.976, BioInvasions Records IF 1.189, and Management of Biological Invasions IF 2.037).
For more information visit the website: www.invasivesnet.org or follow INVASIVESNET on Facebook or Twitter.
Contact person:
Angela Boggero
LifeWatch Italy
CNR-Water Research Institute (IRSA)
Tel. +39 0323 518300, e-mail: angela.boggero@irsa.cnr.it