Specialists in alien invasive species and in river and wetland mollusks meet in Girona
Within the framework of the LIFE Potamo Fauna project, the Consorci del Ter, organized the "5th National Congress on Invasive Alien Species" from the 16th to the 21st of October and the "Symposium on the study and conservation of river mollusks and wetlands "
On the one hand, the "5th National Congress on Invasive Exotic Species" had more than 90 technicians and took place from October 16th to 18th. In addition to the LIFE Potamo Fauna in the organization, there was the Grupo Especialista en Invasiones Biológicas (GEIB) and the LIFE Limno Pirineus. On October 16th and 17th, there were lectures, talks and poster sessions. The inaugural lecture was given by Dr. Belinda Gallardo, entitled "Invasive species and climate change, a "deadly duo" for the conservation of biodiversity."
Among the conclusions drawn up consensually among the participants in the Congress (researchers, representatives of scientific organizations and conservationists, professionals, technicians and managers of the Environmental Administration) emphasizes and urges the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and the Environment, to develop urgently the necessary mechanisms to ensure the coordination, the agreement and the consensus in the management between the different administrations and the different socio-economic sectors, in order to prevent the introduction of invasive alien species and stop their expansion. They also ask the Central, Autonomic and Local administrations to coordinate and cooperate effectively, always involving the scientific community. In addition, they point to the need to generate more information on emerging invasive alien species, as well as more scientific and technical information for risk analysis, as well as reiterate the need for import bans for certain invasive species done on a large scale (for example, trade in turtles shouldn’t be permitted instead of forbidding specific species).
On the other hand, the "Seminars on study and conservation of mollusks and wetlands" had more than 30 participants and took place on October 20th and 21th. Lectures, roundtables and poster sessions took place, as well as a visit to the breeding center for naiads of the Consorci de l’Estany, located in Porqueres. Apart from LIFE Potamo Fauna, the organization also had the Spanish Society of Malacology (SEM) and the Catalan Association of Malacology (ACM).
