Invasive Alien Species (IAS) The perspective from European hunters 1 st Meeting of the Working Group on Invasive Alien Species – 12 th of June 2015 Presentation from FACE – The European Federation of Associations for Hunting and Conservation Charlotte Simon –

Established in 1977 in Brussels By hunting associations bringing together nine countries A need to be connected to Europe with the establishment of the Birds Directive and represent the interests of hunter 85% of legislation affecting European hunters is decided at European level The origins of FACE 1 st Meeting of the Working Group on Invasive Alien Species – 12 th of June 2015

Representing our members, the national associations of hunters from 36 countries, which in turn account for 7 million hunters Liaising with our Members, policy makers and EU stakeholders on policy development Providing information on topics relevant for hunting activities and the sustainable use of wildlife Maintaining the dialogue with rural stakeholders FACE today 1 st Meeting of the Working Group on Invasive Alien Species – 12 th of June 2015

FACE’s experience in IAS  : participating in three EU Working Groups focusing on (1)Prevention (2)Early Warning and Rapid Response (3)Eradication, Management and Restoration  2012: Encouraging the participation of hunters in the public consultation on IAS while promoting the adoption of a robust policy for IAS  2013: Adoption of the “European Code of Conduct for Hunting and Invasive Alien Species” by the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention Comparative study on national regulations on IAS and hunting in 5 Member States  2014: Development and presentation of the “Report on Implementation of the Code of Conduct on Hunting and IAS” Development of the “Best Practice Guidelines for Trapping of Mammals in Europe” (Nyctereutes procyonoides & Ondatra zibethicus) 1 st Meeting of the Working Group on Invasive Alien Species – 12 th of June 2015

FACE and its areas of work 1 st Meeting of the Working Group on Invasive Alien Species – 12 th of June 2015 (1) Awareness raising on IAS within particular sectors Focusing on the hunting community Encouraging implementation of the Code of conduct (2) Experience with prioritisation of pathways As explained in the Code of conduct, some hunting practices can be identified as introduction pathways ( but declining trend ) (3) Experiences with management of widely spread IAS Hunting as a management tool Potential issues to be discussed such as conflicting interest, reduction of the detectability, etc.

FACE and its areas of work 1 st Meeting of the Working Group on Invasive Alien Species – 12 th of June 2015 (4) Surveillance systems, including citizen science Hunters as partners for monitoring activities (5) Identification and sharing of information based on national systems Less relevant for the hunting community (6) Development of guidelines and training material Implementation of the “Best Practice Guidelines for Trapping of Mammals in Europe” linked to IAS FACE can provide a support for issues directly linked to hunting activities and develop further guidance on those issues

 How to define and set level on management of IAS that are widely spread (Art. 19)?  How manage populations from the south that are naturally spreading in the northern part of Europe with potential impact on wildlife and biodiversity? (issue that may increase with climate change effects) Other issues to be discussed? 1 st Meeting of the Working Group on Invasive Alien Species – 12 th of June 2015

Thank you for your attention Contact Person: Charlotte Simon –