1.Reaffirms that invasive alien species pose a serious hazard to biodiversity, human health and sustainable development;
2.Welcomes the establishment of the Global Invasive Alien Species Information Partnership and recognizes with appreciation the contributions of its members towards free and open access to standardized information on invasive alien species and pathways globally;
3.Invites the Invasive Species Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and other technical partners to continue and complete the work on pathway analysis, and to continue to develop a system for classifying invasive alien species based on the nature and magnitude of their impacts;
4.Notes the strong interlinkages between invasive alien species, infectious diseases and plant pests which may directly serve as vectors impacting the health of humans, and wild and domesticated animals and plants;
5.Welcomes the approval by the second Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, as part of its Work Programme 2014-2018 and the Antalya Consensus, of the initiation of scoping for a thematic assessment of invasive alien species, for consideration by the Platform’s Plenary at its fourth session;
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6.Calls upon Parties and
invites other Governments, when developing or updating and implementing their national or regional invasive alien species strategies, to consider, on a voluntary basis and in conjunction with the items listed in
decision VI/23:
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(a)Making effective use of communication strategies, tools and approaches, including social media, to raise awareness of the risks associated with the introduction of invasive and potentially invasive alien species, including through targeted messaging towards different sectors and audiences and facilitating public participation in scientific research, monitoring and early warning systems;
(b)In line with
decision IX/4 A, making use of existing guidance on risk analysis relevant to invasive alien species to enhance prevention, including guidance developed by the International Plant Protection Convention, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;
(c)Providing information to the Global Invasive Alien Species Information Partnership on the invasive species recorded in their respective territories, using the tools developed by the Partnership, such as the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species;
(d)Making use of the categorization of pathways of introduction of invasive alien species, considerations for their prioritization and the overview of available tools for their management as contained in the note by the Executive Secretary on pathways of introduction of invasive species, their prioritization and management;
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(e)Identifying and prioritizing pathways of introduction of invasive alien species, taking into account, inter alia, information on the taxa, the frequency of introduction, and the magnitude of impacts, as well as climate change scenarios;
(f)Minimizing risks associated with the introduction of alien species through activities related to ecosystem restoration and development aid, in line with paragraphs 43 and 44 of
decision VIII/27;
(g)Cooperating by sharing information and best practices to address the introduction of invasive alien species via international web-based markets (e-commerce);
(h)Sharing information on control, management and/or eradication of invasive alien species, taking into account lessons learned (from both positive and negative experiences) and cost-benefit analyses, drawing, inter alia, upon information available through the Global Invasive Alien Species Information Partnership and other sources;
(i)Taking appropriate actions by making use of the full range of measures for early detection, control and/or eradication, including biocontrol, with appropriate risk analysis, and of decision-support tools and guidance;
(j)Prioritizing actions at all levels, including national, subnational and local levels, to address invasive alien species in particularly vulnerable ecosystems;
(k)Continuing efforts on the management of invasive alien species, with special emphasis and giving priority and importance to protected areas and key biodiversity areas, contributing to the achievement of Aichi Biodiversity Target 11;
(l)Collaborating with neighbouring countries on prevention, monitoring, early detection and rapid response activities, including through regional plant protection organizations, and relevant regional organizations for wildlife conservation;
(m)Involving experts from relevant agencies and institutions, including academia, indigenous and local communities and private sector entities, with a view to promoting a comprehensive approach towards invasive alien species;
(n)Reporting on the progress towards Target 10 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation aimed at putting in place effective management plans to prevent new biological invasions and to manage important areas for plant diversity that are invaded;
7.Considering the vulnerability of island biodiversity to threats posed by invasive alien species and climate change and
recognizing the urgency of capacity development for small island developing States to address these threats,
welcomes the proposed International Islands Initiative for achieving Aichi Biodiversity Target 9 on Invasive Alien Species;
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8.Calls upon donor countries and other donor agencies to further support Parties in the prevention, control or eradication of invasive alien species and to evaluate the existing capacity to strengthen border control measures at the national and regional levels;
9.Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to the availability of resources:
(a)To facilitate, through technical and scientific cooperation in line with Article 18 of the Convention, the development and implementation of regional projects to manage those pathways and invasive or potentially invasive species that have been identified as priorities at the regional level, for example, through the proposed International Islands Initiative for achieving Aichi Biodiversity Target 9 on Invasive Alien Species;
(b)To facilitate, in line with paragraph 19 of
decision XI/28, capacity-building on identification of invasive and potentially invasive species, including on rapid approaches, in support of the Capacity-building Strategy for the Global Taxonomy Initiative;
(c)To develop in collaboration with relevant organizations, and taking into consideration the proposed assessment of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services on invasive alien species, decision-support tools for assessing and evaluating the social, economic and ecological consequences of invasive alien species; cost-benefit analyses for eradication, management and control measures; and tools for examining the impacts of climate change and land-use change on biological invasions;
(d)To explore with relevant partners, including the standard-setting bodies recognized by the World Trade Organization (the International Plant Protection Convention, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and the Codex Alimentarius Commission) and other members of the inter-agency liaison group on invasive alien species, methods of alerting suppliers and potential buyers to the risk posed by invasive alien species sold via e-commerce,
107 and report on progress to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice prior to the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties;
(e)To assess progress towards the achievement of Aichi Biodiversity Target 9 and to report to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice prior to the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties;
(f)To develop a user-friendly guide to existing decisions of the Conference of the Parties on invasive alien species and the relevant guidance and standards developed by other relevant organizations, as requested in paragraphs 3 and 17 of
decision IX/4 B;
(g)To compile, in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature and through the Global Invasive Alien Species Information Partnership, information from Parties, scientific institutions, and other relevant organizations, on experiences in the use of biological control agents against invasive alien species, in particular the release in the wild of alien species for this purpose, including positive and negative cases and cases of the application of appropriate risk assessment, and to submit a synthesis of this information to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice prior to the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, and to make this information available through the clearing-house mechanism.
