The IUCN Council has adopted the Environmental Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT) as an IUCN standard. EICAT is an assessment process that classifies alien species into categories according to their environmental impact. It compares the levels of impact by taxa among regions and taxonomic groups, facilitating predictions of potential future impacts and prioritisation of management actions and evaluation of methods.
Scientists, land managers and conservation practitioners can use EICAT as a tool to gain a better understanding of the magnitude of impacts of alien taxa, to alert relevant stakeholders to the possible consequences of the arrival of certain species, and to inform about management policies and actions.
For more information:
https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/content/documents/iucn_categories_and_criteria.pdf
https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001850
