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How to communicate on pests and invasive alien plants? Conclusions of the EPPO/CoE/IUCN‐ ISSG/DGAV/UC/ESAC Workshop
Author(s) -
Brunel S.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
eppo bulletin
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.327
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1365-2338
pISSN - 0250-8052
DOI - 10.1111/epp.12110
Subject(s) - alien , economic shortage , invasive species , biosecurity , alien species , listing (finance) , environmental planning , biology , political science , ecology , geography , business , government (linguistics) , linguistics , philosophy , finance , politics , citizenship , law
EPPO and the Bern Convention have been conducting activities on invasive alien species for more than 60 and 30 years respectively, and dozens of staff and volunteers dedicate their lives to preventing the entry and spread of pests and invasive alien species. Despite this and the myriad of initiatives being held in Ministries, NGOs and universities, communication on pests and invasive alien plants is still scarce. How to communicate on pests and invasive alien plants (IAP) is still an important question as it requires the identification of which information should be provided, to whom and for what purpose. In addition, it is important to determine how the results should be evaluated. Communicating on pests and invasive alien plants requires explanation of complex phenomena that may cause concern (for example, the introduction of a new pest of wheat that may lead to food shortage concerns) or involve abstract ecological theories (for example, the impact of an invasive alien plant on the native flora and ecosystems, which may lead to discussions on what the media sees as ‘xenophobic’ nature of the action being undertaken). NPPOs, Ministries of the Environment, NGOs and universities have developed scientific theories, tools for risk analysis and eradication and methods for listing species. However, their actions are rarely communicated to the general public and those playing a role in the introduction of species, such as the nursery industry. Awareness raising and communication is therefore crucial to the discipline, first of all to make the parties involved and the general public aware of the good practices they should adopt to prevent the entry and spread of pests and IAP. This is the aim of the EPPO poster ‘Don’t risk it’ (see Fig. 1). On a broader scale, the issue needs to be recognized by civil servants so that policy makers understand the need for policy on invasive alien species (IAS) (such as the newly released EU regulation proposal on the 9th of September 2013). Fig. 1 EPPO Poster ‘Don’t risk it’ to be displayed in airports and seaports.