GBIF has reconvened its task group on the mobilisation 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 mobilisation, and assist in developing 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.
Operating for a period of 24 months, from September 2024, the task group will deliver its recommendations to the GBIF Governing Board through the Secretariat.
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.
More information on GBIF and this task group, including who’s involved, can be found on the GBIF website.