Training and Awareness Raising

With increasing rates of global trade and travel, species are transported around the globe at an ever increasing rate.

Some of these species establish themselves in new environments and start to spread rapidly, causing ecological and socio-economic damage. These species are termed 'invasive'. Once an invasive species is established, the ongoing cost of managing the population and mitigating the impacts on environmental services are often considerable.

Both plants and animals can be introduced around the world by humans either deliberately or accidentally. This can occur for a number of reasons: 

Ornamental/decoration - Many plants are introduced for use in gardens, such as Himalayan balsam and floating pennywort. 

Fishing – The introduction of new fish and aquaculture species such as top mouth gudgeon and the zebra mussel have been causing problems in European freshwater habitats 

Game and hunting – American mink were introduced toEurope to be farmed for their fur. Now escaped wild populations are pushing native species (such as the water vole) towards extinction

Biological control - In order to control non-native invasive species, sometimes natural enemies from their home range (such as beetles or fungi) must be introduced

Pets – The trade of exotic birds such as the ring-necked parakeet resulted in feral populations establishing in majorUK cities. 

Human activity is the most common pathway of invasion and spread for a variety of taxa, therefore the problem of invasive species can be tackled by raising awareness within the general public - the aim of Work Package Two of the RINSE Project.