Working Group on Invasive Alien Species First meeting, 12 th June, 2015 Brussels Colette O’Flynn, Ireland

Background Invasive Species Officer with the National Biodiversity Data Centre, Ireland. Manage Ireland’s National Invasive Species Database Connect Ireland’s data to European and international information networks (NOBANIS, GBIF) Deliver Ireland’s Early Warning System for IAS Undertake risk assessments Support surveillance and monitoring of IAS Develop and support Citizen Science recording of IAS Analyse data for trends in introductions Work with state bodies, local authorities, NGO’s and interested groups to tackle the threat of IAS Deliver training workshops on identification, recording and management of IAS Provide policy and legislative interpretation and dissemination Work on various collaborative cross-border, regional and European and international projects and working groups. WGIAS Brussels, 12/06/2015. C. O’Flynn

1. Awareness Raising – Articles 7, 31 & 32 Have carried out stakeholder and public consultation for domestic legislation on prohibition of trading in and keeping of listed IAS including transitional provisions and licensing. Key points: -Advertise widely with key stakeholders availability for engagement. -Delivery of the message on the need for the Regulation needs to be clear and consistent. Peers delivering message works best! -Need to be able to answer queries on practicalities of support mechanisms e.g. where to dispose of materials. -Develop a database of key stakeholders e.g. traders, hunting clubs. Delivery of targeted biosecurity campaigns e.g. Be Pet/Plant Wise Regular engagement with the media is key. Effort required need to re- work angle of message being delivered. Direct links to local authorities and departmental personnel vital WGIAS Brussels, 12/06/2015. C. O’Flynn

2. Pathway prioritisation and action plans– Article 13 Analysis of main pathways for existing and potential invader IAS undertaken in 2012 (all-Ireland), not a comprehensive analysis Marine non-indigenous pathway analysis report 2014 (all-Ireland) Marine Pathways Project, pathway and hotspot entry point analysis (UK and Irl) COST Action ALIEN Challenge project includes action on review of pathways and priority species (Europe wide). Linking with delivery of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive Descriptor 2 WGIAS Brussels, 12/06/2015. C. O’Flynn

3. IAS management, rapid eradication and restoration– Articles 17, 19 & 20 Development of Invasive Species Action Plans (ISAPs) through Invasive Species Ireland (all-Ireland). Includes: ­actions required to prevent the introduction and/or spread of the species. ­Identifies contingency and or management protocols ­Identifies coordinating and support bodies for listed actions ­Lists mitigation measures Published Best Practice Management guidance for some widespread IAS Responsible for issuing Species Alerts to trigger rapid response. Varying degree of rapid responses initiated. ­Most successful for mammals, little to no habitat restoration required to date ­Varying degrees of success for plant eradications with some habitat restoration undertaken. Annual delivery of identification and management workshops. WGIAS Brussels, 12/06/2015. C. O’Flynn

4. Surveillance System– Article 14 Surveillance of some IAS species occurring through Water Framework Directive monitoring but not in a widespread systematic manner, more incidental recording. Centralisation of IAS distribution data in place. Bulk of recent distribution data from dedicated IAS projects or casual sighting reports. Citizen science recording schemes in place. Engaging with MSFD and WFD coordinators to look at areas of cross-over, potential for collaboration and sharing of information to prevent duplication of effort. Utilise All-island Sampling Framework (15 ecoregions) to determine distribution baselines and focus sampling strategy. Develop off-shore monitoring and hotspot entry point surveillance (Marine Pathways Project and Rapid Assessment of Marinas monitoring) National and cross-border plan/protocol desirable. WGIAS Brussels, 12/06/2015. C. O’Flynn

5. Linking data to Information Support System – Article 25 Most IAS data centralised in existing National Invasive Species Database (NISD). Data provided to EASIN via the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Data and additional information provided to NOBANIS. Support for Citizen Science sighting reports essential, almost half of all Species Alerts resulted from Citizen Scientist sighting. Ongoing work to digitize and centralise additional data. Reviewing IUCN Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS) draft inventory for Ireland. WGIAS Brussels, 12/06/2015. C. O’Flynn

6. Development of support materials for detection – Articles 14 &15 Have developed identification guides for invasive species in Ireland and some potential invaders. Invasive Species Ireland have developed support materials for custom officials to aid in detection of some IAS and various codes of practice. Marine Pathways Project have developed marine biosecurity guidance documents - support of official controls. Taxonomic capacity will be required for verifying species identification. There is an all-Ireland centralised Expert Registry where expertise is volunteered to aid in verifying species and for providing additional information for quick scan risk assessment. Potential for European wide expert registry. Need greater collaboration with the competent authorities with responsibility for implementation of the plant and animal health Directives and with the Food and Feed Law Regulations in order to build on and learn from existing systems. WGIAS Brussels, 12/06/2015. C. O’Flynn

Other issues to work upon…. Sharing of final species risk assessment species and pathway analysis and prioritisation reports Regional cooperation data flow mechanisms WGIAS Brussels, 12/06/2015. C. O’Flynn