Joint ESENIAS and DIAS Scientific Conference and 9th ESENIAS Workshop Species, Ecosystems and Areas of Conservation Concern under Threat from the Invasive Alien Species: Outcomes

摘要

Recent scientific reports have highlighted that biodiversity and nature globally are in a state of crisis and there is urgent need for radical changes in the management of natural resources. Invasive alien species (IAS) together with climate change have been recognised as major and fast growing direct drivers of the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in Europe and worldwide. The ecosystems with globally significant biodiversity, including the aquatic ecosystems, are most vulnerable to the impact of IAS and, therefore, need special protection. The EU Regulation 1143/2014, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, and the EU Strategy for the Danube Region Revised Action Plan call for urgent actions addressing IAS in order to minimise their impact on the threaten and protected species and habitats. In response to the necessity of coordinated actions in this respect, the third Joint ESENIAS and DIAS Scientific Conference and 9th ESENIAS Workshop entitled Species, ecosystems and areas of conservation concern under threat from the invasive alien species was held on 3-6 September 2019, in the town of Ohrid, Republic of North Macedonia. The conference was organised by the Hydrobiological Institute Ohrid, Public Institution Galicica National Park, ESENIAS, DIAS, and the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The conference was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Public Institution Galicica National Park. In this introductory article, we present information about the venue of the conference: the Galicica Mountain and lakes Ohrid and Prespa, a region of globally significant biodiversity, as well as conference participants and their contributions. We also review the scientific outcomes of the conference under the seven topics.