This article is from page 74 of the 2008-03-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 74 JPG
THE European Commission is to launch a pan-EU public survey of invasive flora and fauna species. These invasive alien species disrupt local flora and fauna and cause con- siderable damage to nature and the economy.
The findings will feed into an EU framework for invasive alien species to be adopted by the end of this year. In Clare, the invasion of rhododen- drons, Japanese knot weeds and hog- weed are having a particular impact on the local flora.
Parts of west and north Clare have been infested with Japanese knot weeds while Lough Corrib in Galway has been invaded by Lagarosiphon, a
weed native to southern Africa that suffocates the lakes ecosystem by creating a dense canopy impervious to light.
Ireland’s biodiversity is also under attack from non-native grey squir- rels, who compete with native red squirrels.
“Europe is committed to halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010. We know that invasive species are one of the major threats to biodiversity, and that economies often suffer as a result, but we lack a harmonised system for tackling the problem and assessing its impact,” said EU Com- missioner Dimas.
“A strong public response to this survey will help Europe define the problem more clearly, and ultimately
help us develop a suitable mecha- nism to halt it altogether.”
The European Commission is tack- ling this problem by launching an internet consultation on the issue until May 5. Interested parties, in- cluding individual citizens, industry and consumer representatives, inter- est groups, the NGO community and other organisations are all invited to contribute information and opinions. The results of this consultation will be used to inform the development of EU policy in the field of invasive alien species, the options for which will be presented in a communica- tion from the commission at the end of 2008.
Ecosystems are dynamic by nature, and many species become estab-
lished far from their place of origin.
These new introductions are often the result of human action — Europe’s rhododendrons originated in the Himalayas, and staples of the Euro- pean diet such as tomatoes, potatoes and maize originated in the Ameri- cas.
But while many introduced spe- cies bring considerable benefits to local economies, others upset the balance and proliferate in ways that are highly destructive to the environ- ment and to economic and human interests. This consultation is a first step to address this problem on a Eu- ropean scale.
You can take part in the survey. Simply check out www.invasivespe- ciesireland.com