EASIN - European Alien Species Information Network
European Commission and Member States encouraged to use EASIN
About 130 European scientists and managers gathered at the European workshop on Control and Eradication of Invasive Alien Plant Species, organised by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Hungary in Budapest from 19-21 April 2016, to share experiences regarding the control of invasive alien plants.
At the workshop, the JRC presented the EASIN system, a data discovery portal that facilitates the exploration of information on AS occurring in Europe from distributed sources. An Editorial Board composed of 28 taxonomy experts ensures EASIN commitment to high levels of data quality. EASIN is currently aligning its pathways to the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) classification.
EASIN was welcomed by participants as “one-stop-shop” information system that provides valuable updated scientific information on IAS and spatial data at the European level for sharing best practices in eradicating IAS. Some scientists expressed an interest in joining the EASIN network of data partners. The current capabilities and future developments, which include citizen science, a smart-app on IAS, data mining and horizon scanning capabilities, generated a lot of interest.
The recommendations of the workshop state: "We call the attention of the European Commission and Member States to set up a mapping system on spreading and monitoring of invasive alien species and encourage Member States and Management Authorities to share their data and experience through EASIN…. Strengthening scientific cooperation through writing articles about experiences in suppressing and eradicating invasive alien species and placing materials on the already existing online platforms (Natura 2000 Platform, EASIN, etc.)".
These recommendations endorse the efforts and the quality of the work already carried out by the JRC to support the scientific community working on alien species. The results of the workshop support the continual development of the EASIN system, and will lead to an enlargement of the EASIN network with further data partners.