Struggle against invasive species remains important goal for global Strategic Plan for Biodiversity

Montreal, 1 August 2011 – The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity has expressed support for a recent call from conservation organizations for continued action against invasive species.

On 22 July, the magazine Science published a letter from senior leaders of the world most authoritative conservation organizations entitled “Invasives: A Major Conservation Threat”. The purpose of the letter was to respond to recent positions that have argued against the struggle against invasive species.

In the letter, the leaders of IUCN, Birdlife, WWF, Conservation International, Wildlife Conservation Society, Fauna and Flora International, and Island Conservation indicated that recent discussions on alternative strategies to the management of invasive species should not undermine ongoing efforts to prevent and mitigate the impacts of invasive species.

The authors of the letter stress that as invasive species are indeed a major cause of biodiversity loss continued aggressive intervention is needed to capitalize on recent successes. Therefore, conservation leaders call the global community to work together to control the most harmful invasive species, and to meet target 9 of Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, which calls for action to control invasives.

“Invasive species are a subtle threat to the natural balance of species and ecosystems, but can suddenly occur in explosive outbreaks. For this reason, the global Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 includes a specific target on this issue” said Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary to the Convention on Biological Diversity. He added that: “We warmly welcome the letter published in Science – signed by an impressive list of leaders of conservation organizations – because it confirms the commitment of the conservation community to address this threat. Preventing and mitigating the negative effects of invasions is indeed a huge challenge, and the cooperation of the NGOs is of crucial importance.”

For additional information, please contact: David Ainsworth on +1 514 287 7025 or at david.ainsworth@cbd.int; or Johan Hedlund on +1 514 287 6670 or at johan.hedlund@cbd.int.