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<P><FONT face=Arial>Dear colleagues,</FONT></P>
<P></FONT><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>As you probably know, the Belgian Forum
on Invasive Species (BFIS) is responsible for preparing and updating the
reference list of non-native species invading terrestrial, freshwater and marine
ecosystems in Belgium and neighbour areas, with a focus on organisms causing a
strong detrimental impact on native biodiversity. This list will be used in the
future by federal and regional authorities to support prevention and mitigation
actions in the field.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Scientific data about the most detrimental species are
gathered through the Harmonia information system, that was launched for a test
phase with about 100 species belonging to vascular plants and vertebrates (see
</FONT></FONT><A href="http://ias.biodiversity.be/"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>http://ias.biodiversity.be</FONT></A><FONT size=2><FONT
face=Arial>).</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>The Harmonia system will be improved in a near future
through the following steps: </FONT></P>
<OL type=i>
<LI><FONT face=Arial>Data reviewing – Accreditation of data and assessment of
the ecological impact of the different species already included in the
database based on a standardised procedure (= ISEIA protocol). Species will be
allocated to black and watch lists based on this protocol;</FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT face=Arial>Entering additional species – Other species will be added
to the database after approval of the ISEIA protocol , including organisms
from other taxonomic groups (algae, invertebrates,
etc.).</FONT></LI></OL></FONT><FONT size=2>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Please find here attached the last version of the ISEIA
protocol, which has been elaborated and tested with the contribution of 20
scientists involved in the BFIS, focusing on vascular plants, insects, fish,
birds and mammals. </FONT></FONT><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>As you will see,
only non-native species that are already present in Western Europe are
considered by the protocol (it doesn't intend to provide a full screening
tool for species which are not yet established in our regions). The first
results we get show that the ISEIA protocol is usable for most groups without
any major problem and that repeatability is quite good (different assessors
provide similar results). Thanks a lot to the different assessors who provided
data and nice discussion elements.</FONT></P></FONT><FONT size=2>
<P><FONT face=Arial>I would like to make use of the BFIS discussion list to know
if some points of this protocol deserve to be modified or improved, before its
implementation in the Harmonia information system. Any comments or suggestions
are still very welcome.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Thank you very much in advance for your contribution. Very
best regards,</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Etienne</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>PS1: an open meeting will be organised before the
summertime to present the results of the assessments and discuss practical use
of the list system for prioritising prevention and mitigation
actions.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>PS2: other people that are interested to participate to the
impact assessment of specific organisms can contact
me.</FONT></P></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial
size=2>==========================================================================<BR> <BR>Dr.
Etienne Branquart<BR>Belgian Biodiversity Platform (SPO)<BR> <BR>Ministere
de la Region wallonne<BR>Centre de Recherche de la Nature, des Forets et du Bois
(DGRNE)<BR>Avenue Marechal Juin, 23<BR>B-5030 Gembloux- Belgium<BR> <BR>Tel
: + 32 (0)81 620 420<BR>Fax : + 32 (0)81 620 436<BR>E-mail :
<A
href="mailto:E.Branquart@mrw.wallonie.be">E.Branquart@mrw.wallonie.be</A><BR>URL:
<A
href="http://www.biodiversity.be">http://www.biodiversity.be</A><BR> <BR>==========================================================================<BR> <BR>Ce
message n'engage aucunement la DGRNE et reste informel. Tout
courrier<BR>officiel doit toujours actuellement être confirmé par lettre et
revêtu de la<BR>signature d'un agent dûment
mandaté<BR>==========================================================================</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>