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Conference in Copenhagen demands EU legislation on invasive species
photo by Gidzy (Flickr CC)
Researchers met last week at the NEOBIOTA conference in Copenhagen, Denmark to discuss the problem of invasive species in Europe.
The 6th NEOBIOTA conference called on the EU to protect Europe’s native species against animals, plants and microorganisms that are deemed a threat. The participants are demanding that the EU enact legislation similar to that of New Zealand and Australia.
Invasive species – which have, according to research, increased by 76% over the last 30 years – cost Europe an estimated €12 billion every year.
A European inventory in 2008 found more than 10,000 alien species in Europe, with 1,300 having some kind of impact. This impact was exerted either on the environment, economy or, on human health.
–BBC News
Invasive species Piero Genovesi of the Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) and the ISPRA (The Institute for Environmental Protection and Research) says that €12 billion is a low estimate and that the real damage is impossible to gauge, but is probably several times that figure.
Alien species with the greatest impact on Europe include the disease-spreading Asian tiger mosquito and the Canada Goose.
For more on the story see the following article from BBC News:
Urgent call on the EU to stop billion-euro ‘alien invasion’
Tags: alien, conference, copenhagen, EU, Europe, invasive, NEOBIOTA, species
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