How to combat the spread of invasive species
Invasions are a major cause of biodiversity loss, but they also have serious social and economic consequences. More than 13,000 non-native species have been identified in Europe, of which about 1,500 are invasive species that have a negative impact on the environment. Of particular concern are the brown rat, raccoon, red swamp crayfish, tiger mosquito, varroa mite, ragweed, tree of heaven and many other species.
According to various studies, by 2050 the number of non-native species in Europe will increase by as much as 64 percent. This estimate assumes current trends will remain unchanged. However, the abundance and impact of invasive species depend on a number of environmental and socioeconomic factors that are difficult to predict.
Researchers, managers and policymakers from around the world have developed four scenarios for future biological invasions. This was done as part of the AlienScenarios and InvasiBES projects.
Scenarios are not predictions as such – they are narrative descriptions and reports of what may happen in the future under various circumstances.
In particular, they take into account socio-ecological changes that are critical for invasive species, and are more focused on biodiversity conservation than other global change scenarios, such as the general socio-economic pathways used in many climate change reports.< /p>
The first scenario was called “Big Tech rules Europe.” In it, distrust of governments leads to companies gaining more and more power while populations concentrate in cities and suffer economic hardship. Increasing numbers of invasive species and reducing coordinated management.
Another scenario “Technological pseudo-panacea” shows rapid technological development, large trade volumes and high levels of biosecurity. European societies are concentrating in “smart cities”. The rate of spread and establishment of invasive species is low due to stringent biosecurity measures.
The final vision for Europe's future «Green Local Governance»: Local authorities are gaining more influence. Through gradual growth, society begins to value locally produced goods and spreads from urban centers to rural areas. Reduced trade limits the spread of invasive species, but ineffective coordination is a barrier to management and biosecurity.
There is also the fallback scenario of “Lost Europe,” ruled by reduced international cooperation and rising social inequality. Pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss are worsening. Invasive species have decreased due to reduced trade, but they remain largely unchecked.
The strategy was based on the vision that “by 2050, the harmful impacts of invasive species in Europe (EU and non-EU countries) will be significantly reduced compared to today” and that people will be able to adapt to the uncertainties arising in as a result of the scenarios mentioned above.
Based on the relationship between goals and key elements of management strategy, scientists have identified four main recommendations for controlling invasive species in Europe.
The first step is to create a dedicated European agency or intergovernmental agreement with the mandate and resources to regulate and oversee activities related to the fight against invasive species. This should then be followed by the development of a cross-sectoral communication strategy on invasive species (including a dedicated curriculum for schools) and a centralized multilingual communication platform at European level. Scientists say it's worth adopting standard protocols to collect and access data on invasive species for management decisions.
But experts point out that none of these recommendations will be sufficient on their own, but they form the basis of a long-term strategy to combat biological invasions at European level. It is time to shift attention to a more holistic perspective that takes into account the unique situations in different sectors and countries and which clearly examines likely future scenarios.