Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP)

Chair: Dennis Rangi, CAB International (Kenya)
Director: Lynn Jackson (South Africa)

GISP website http://www.gisp.org

Invasive alien species (IAS) constitute a global problem that potentially affects the health of all species, including humans, national economies and biodiversity. Increasing global trade, global climatic change and changing land use patterns will exacerbate this problem in the future

SCOPE was one of the initial partners in the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP) that was established in 1997 with the explicit objective of providing new scientific, technical, economic and institutional tools, and a global strategy to combat invasive alien species, thereby helping to maintain and manage the Earth's biological diversity. GISP facilitates linkages among many constituencies, including natural and social scientists, economists, educators, lawyers, resource managers, and individuals from academics, government and the private sector, who incorporate a cross sectoral approach to the issues of invasive alien species.

Other founding partners in GISP were the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the Commonwealth Bureau of Agriculture - International (CAB-I). The Smithsonian Institution (SI), The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the National Botanical Institute of South Africa (NBI) subsequently joined the partnership for the second phase, begun in 2003. SCOPE was associated with GISP for the promotion of research on critical issues related to IAS and the implementation of research activities under Phase II focus 3.

GISP contributed to DIVERSITAS, an international partnership on biodiversity science. GISP is also linked to the action of the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and provides the knowledge base for a number of the CBD’s deliberations on invasive species. Interaction with emerging national and regional projects is increasingly important in the overall activities of GISP.

SCOPE, while having withdrawn from programme that has now entered its implementation phase, will continue to contribute to the development of GISP on an ad hoc - basis.

Phase I: 1997-2002

The first phase of the project revisited the knowledge base, especially as regards the current status of invasive species, new methods for assessing changing distributions and abundances, the ecology of invasive species, the human dimensions of the issue and the interaction with global changes.

Furthermore, it developed an integrated strategy to address invasive species problems. A toolkit provided a series of new tools for analysing risks, changing pathways of trade as they provide vectors for invasive species, measuring economic consequences, reinforcing the legal and institutional frameworks, managing and controlling invasive species, and raising awareness of the potential dangers of invasive species among decision makers and the public at large. A database provides the premises of a global early warning system.

From 2001-2004, a series of regional workshops were held in collaboration with host governments in Southern Africa, Nordic Baltic, Australia/Pacific, Central America, South East Asia, Western Africa and South America. The workshops provided a forum for scientific experts and government representatives to:

• Raise awareness of IAS issue among policy makers within a region
• Facilitate regional communication and promote regional cooperation (scientific policy, education, etc.)
• Lay foundations for the development of regional IAS strategies
• Encourage regions to apply their resources globally

GISP Outputs

Products from Phase I include the following science reports:

• The Economics of Biological Invasions. Perrings C., M. Williamson, S. Dalmazonne eds. 2000. Edward Elgar Publishers (introductory chapter)
  
• A Guide to Designing Legal and Institutional Frameworks on Alien Invasive Species. Shine, C, Williams N., Gundling, L. eds. 2000. IUCN Environmental Law Centre
• Invasive Species in a Changing World. Mooney H.A., R. J. Hobbs eds., 2000. Island Press
• Global Strategy on Invasive Alien Species. McNeely, J. et.al eds. 2001
• Invasive Alien Species: A Toolkit of Best Prevention and Management Practices Cock, M., R. Wittenberg. 2001.
• Invasive Alien Species: The Human Dimensions of the Problem. J. McNeely 2001. IUCN Publications
• Invasive Species: Vectors and Management Strategies. Carlton, J., G. Ruiz eds. 2003. Island Press.
• 100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species A Selection from the Global Invasive Species Database, IUCN-ISSG, Lowe, S. M., Browne, S. Boudjelas, M. DePoorter
• A Plague of Rats and Rubbervines – The Growing Threat of Species Invasions, (a popular volume by science-writer Y. Baskin was published in 2001 by Island Press.)
• SCOPE 63 - Invasive Alien Species: Searching for Solutions. GISP Phase I Synthesis Volume. Mooney, H.A. et al eds., in prep (2004). Island Press

Phase II: 2001 and beyond

The second phase of GISP was characterized by a greater focus on implementation, and on providing information, research outputs and expertise to national and regional programmes, international organizations and conventions.

The GISP Phase II plan had two focus areas:

• foster the collaboration of scientists to address key problem issues that are thwarting progress on reducing the threats by IAS. These actions include public-private sector co-operation on reducing major commercial pathways of alien introductions, harmonisation of legal instruments for invasive alien species across environmental, agricultural and trade sectors, and accelerating research dialogue on new tools for prediction, assessment, control and management of invasive species;
• implementation at the regional and national level, using the toolkit and database products of its first phase, along with its strong international network of co-operators, to catalyse and assist local initiatives and the establishment of national invasive species strategies and programmes.

Since 1999, GISP supports the Secretariat to the Convention on Biological Diversity by providing information and advice on alien invasive species issues, and has been requested to provide further assistance in the areas of summarising experiences, new methodologies for assessment, terminology, needs for taxonomy, and others. GISP also continues as an inclusive, international research effort.

The following five key elements provided the focus for Phase II activities:

1. Global information management for IAS to provide information on scientific, technical and other aspects of IAS and support scientific and technical co-operation on IAS issues.
2. Directed action at key pathways of IAS introduction through public/private sector co-operation focused on key sectoral pathways of introduction.
3. Promotion of assessment and evaluation on critical IAS issues that will translate into the development and communication of research products that limit the spread and consequences of IAS.
4. National and Regional Capacity Building to improve national capacity to prevent and manage IAS problems, and support regional, capacity-sharing initiatives.
5. Supporting co-operation and co-ordination between international organisations involved in IAS.

Last up-dated 22 February 2006