A prioritization process for invasive alien plants incorporating the requirements of the EU Regulation no. 1143/2014
When faced with a large number of invasive, or potentially invasive alien plant species prioritization is an essential component to focus limited resources on those species which pose the greatest risks. When considering alien plant species for the whole EPPO region or for species under the Plant Health Regulation, the original EPPO prioritization process for invasive alien plants is the preferred tool to use. However, when considering alien plants under the EU Regulation no. 1143/2014 and within the remit of the LIFE IAP-RISK project, EPPO has adapted the original prioritization process into a stand-alone tool specially designed to incorporate the requirements of the Regulation. Similar to the original, the prioritization process for EU invasive alien plants acts as a first step to determine which species have the highest priority for a pest risk analysis. The prioritization process for EU invasive alien plants has two stages where stage 1 prioritises species into one of four lists (EU List of Invasive Alien Plants, EU Observation List, EU List of Minor Concern and the Residual List). Only those species with a medium to high spread potential coupled with high impacts on native species or ecosystem services are included in the EU List of Invasive Alien Plants and are further evaluated in Stage 2 – the risk management stage. In this second stage, five questions are asked to determine the potential for further spread, establishment, and if preventative or management actions can be applied for the species in a cost-effective manner. The output of Stage 2 is to prioritize those species which have the highest priority for a risk assessment at the EU level compared to those species where national measures should apply.
The publication detailing the prioritization process (together with a flow diagram) for EU invasive alien plants is freely avalaible in the EPPO Bulletin.
Sources
Branquart E, Brundu G, Buholzer S, Chapman D, Ehert P, Fried G, Starfinger U, van Valkenburg J, Tanner R (2016) A prioritization process for invasive alien plant species incorporating the requirements of the EU Regulation no. 1143/2014. Bulletin OEPP/EPPO Bulletin 46(3), 603-617.