What species and where ? LIFE RIPARIAS has co-developed a river basin management strategy with input from local stakeholders
A little bit of background
For years, invasive alien species (IAS) have caused ecological and socio-economic damages by spreading beyond their natural range, and Belgium is no exception to this phenomenon. Until now, the management of these IAS was mainly carried out by local or regional managers, but was rarely implemented on a large scale, such as at the river basin or the river sub-unit scale, especially if it extends beyond administrative boundaries. Improving communication and coordination of management efforts among the numerous stakeholders involved within a river basin could greatly enhance management effectiveness. Coherent management actions can be hindered by a difficult communication among managers who are unfamiliar with each other, as well as a lack of knowledge of best management practices. As a result, re-invasion frequently occurs from neighbouring and upstream areas, and management outcomes are neither sustainable nor cost-effective.
One of the key initiatives undertaken by the LIFE RIPARIAS project is to establish a coherent and coordinated management strategy at the river basin scale, engaging all relevant stakeholders including, but not limited to, municipal, provincial, regional and Belgian authorities, organisations, associations, tourism services, volunteers involved in species management, universities. They were consulted during two workshop sessions to co-construct the strategy with the project partners. The strategy focuses on the interregional Dijle, Zenne and Mark river basins, serving as a pilot area for the implementation of LIFE RIPARIAS’ management actions. The project targets several riparian and aquatic plant species as well as invasive crayfish species that are either emergent or already well-established.
| Implementing management actions: YES ! but through a coordinated approach and the prioritisation of specific sites and species |
The strategy outlines priority species and areas for management actions within each river basin, making use of the Decision Support Tool developed as part of the project. This prioritisation approach was based on the initial distribution of IAS in a specific territory for a defined period (2021-2022 for plants and 2016-2022 for crayfish) – and is therefore dependent on past management actions – as well as on criteria such as the risk of upstream-to-downstream propagation with watercourses and flooding events, proximity to sites of biological interest, or the invasion stage.
This collaboratively-developed strategy was jointly validated by the three regions at the Interministerial Conference of Environment. This validation was an important step as the strategy encompasses all levels of management and establishes cohesive objectives among various regions, providing a common basis for all stakeholders at the river basin scale. It optimises and enhances the sustainability (for the period 2023-2031) of invasive alien species management in terms of time, manpower and financial resources.
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