Task group reconvenes to enhance biodiversity data for invasive species research and policy

GBIF has reconvened its task group on the mobilization and use of biodiversity data for research and policy on invasive alien species. This group of 12 international experts carries a remit to strengthen GBIF's position on the science-policy interface, improve its coverage and representation of relevant data, and support the wider invasive alien species (IAS) research and policy communities.

Task group members expect to examine current issues regarding data availability and use, identify key datasets to target for mobilization, and assist in developing of a use case for the GBIF data model that fully supports the needs of IAS researchers. The new group will also leverage and expand on the work of a previous expert group, whose recommendations appear in its (2016 final report).

Seeking to build on the Thematic Assessment of Invasive Alien Species and Their Control published by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in 2023, the task group will provide recommendations on how GBIF can most effectively fill critical knowledge and data gaps on IAS. The group will also offer guidance in GBIF's support of various international policy fora, including the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), particularly with regard to national reporting on Target 6 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

"Our task group members are eager to help identify pragmatic steps for GBIF to reach its full potential as an authoritative information resource on alien invasive species," said Dr Melodie McGeoch, professor of ecology at Monash University, 1st vice chair of the GBIF Science Committee, and one of the coordinating lead authors of the IPBES IAS Assessment. “The data and infrastructure that GBIF provides play a unique role in supporting science-policy actions to reduce the massive impacts of biological invasions on biodiversity, people and economies.”

Operating for period of 24 months beginning in September 2024, the task group will deliver its recommendations to the GBIF Governing Board through the Secretariat, led by data partnerships officer Andrew Rodrigues. In addition to regular reporting of its activities to GBIF's governance structures, the task group will produce a final report on its work at the end of the mandated period.

Since 2007, GBIF-mediated data has enabled more than 1,800 peer-reviewed journal articles, books, policy reports and academic dissertations on invasive alien species. In 2023 alone, researchers published 275 GBIF-enabled papers on the topic, including studies on invasion niche dynamics, invasive carriers of human disease, and predictors for aquatic invasive species.

Established on the basis of a recommendation from the GBIF Science Committee and subsequent endorsement by the GBIF Executive Committee, GBIF task groups are managed and supported by staff from the GBIF Secretariat.

TASK GROUP TERMS OF REFERENCE

Members of the invasive alien species task group