The impact of the establishment of invasive alien species on ecosystems concerns all stakeholders involved in policy-making at international, European and national level. In the Global Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, Aichi's ninth goal states that by 2020, invasive alien species and the following corridors and priority species should have been identified and prioritized. The European Union puts the issue of invasive alien species very high on its agricultural and environmental policy agenda. Specific Objective 5 of the European Biodiversity Strategy for 2020 concerns the "Combat Invasive Alien Species" and through Actions 15 and 16 seek to strengthen the EU plant and animal health regimes and to adopt specific legislation on invasive species. Specific reference is made to Regulation 1143/2014 on invasive alien species, which seeks to address the problems arising from these species in an ecosystem with an integrated approach to protect the inherent biodiversity and ecosystem functions as well as to minimize or mitigate the negative impacts on human health and the economy. In the National Strategy for Biodiversity of Greece, all of the above have been incorporated into General Objective 8 “Protection of biodiversity from invasive / invasive alien species”. The general objective of the proposed Project is to inform and raise the awareness of all stakeholders involved in rural development of intervention areas on the impacts of invasive Alien Species on local ecosystems, human health and the economy. The target group consists of Agronomists, Foresters, Veterinarians and other relevant scientists working either in the public or private sector or in Universities and research institutes. The final beneficiaries will be all people, who work in the primary sector such as farmers, animal breeders, fishermen etc. The expected results of the Project are the following: - Description of the current situation in the EU and in each one of the three participating countries concerning the Invasive Alien Species and their impacts on the local eco-systems with best practices from all over the EU. - Study visits in order to exchange knowledge, experiences and best practices. - Creation of educational material that will be used for the seminars for the professionals (Agricultural Engineers and Agronomists, Foresters, Veterinarians). This educational material will be available for use after the completion of the Project as well. - Seminars for the professionals about the impacts of the Invasive Alien Species in the local eco-systems and the effects in the productivity of the agricultural holdings. - Information and awareness raising workshops for farmers, livestock breeders, fishermen and all people involved in the primary sector. - Dissemination activities.
Professionals such as agronomists and agronomists, foresters and veterinarians usually act as advisers to farm owners, offering advisory services to farmers, ranchers and fishermen. Of course they take environmental factors into account, as environmental protection affects the viability of agriculture as an economic activity, but it is not the main focus. The proposed project aims to improve the knowledge and skills of professionals who offer consultancy services to people working in the primary sector, focusing on a specific environmental issue, which is Invasive Alien Species. Scientists and other professionals dealing with invasive alien species focus on wildlife rather than impacts and interactions with agricultural activities. It will be the first time that farmers, ranchers and all people involved in the primary sector in rural areas will be informed and consulted on a specific environmental issue - Invasive Alien Species, which has direct and indirect effects on wildlife . and artificial ecosystems.
The proposed Project deals with the Invasive Alien Species, which is a topic that the last years appears to be very important for both the scientific community and the policy makers. Until now, the most of the scientific research or policies are oriented to wild life and eco-systems and the way the Invasive Alien Species affect them. The current Project focuses on rural areas, where agricultural activities are taking place that obviously shape the landscape and the eco-system of the area. Invasive Alien Species are not only the wild ones but also varieties of cultivated plants or species of animals bred and they interact with all the that shape and affect the evolution of local ecosystems.