To kill or not to kill—Practitioners’ opinions on invasive alien species management as a step towards enhancing control of biological invasions |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Economics, Faculty of Business and Economics, Eastern Mediterranean University, P.O. Box 99628, Famagusta, North Cyprus, Via Mersin 10, Turkey;2. Universidad del Norte, Escuela de Negocios, Departamento de Finanzas y Organización, Km 5, Via a Puerto Colombia, Barranquilla, Colombia;1. Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands;2. Amphibian Evolution Lab, Biology Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium;3. School of Environment and Life Science, Peel Building, University of Salford, Salford M5 4WT, United Kingdom;4. Reptile, Amphibian and Fish Conservation Netherlands (RAVON), P.O. Box 1413, 6501 BK Nijmegen, The Netherlands;5. Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, S10 2TN Sheffield, United Kingdom;1. Milieu Ltd., Chaussée de Charleroi 112, 1060 Brussels, Belgium;2. University of Antwerp, Institute of Development Policy and Management, Prinsstraat 13, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium;1. Environment and Sustainability Institute, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK;2. Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4RJ, UK;3. Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Zoology Building, Tillydrone Avenue, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK |
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| Abstract: | The spread of invasive alien species (IAS) has become an increasingly important environmental, social and economic issue in almost all regions of the world. To have the capacity to effectively counter the effects of invasions, besides basic research on invasion processes and the ecological impacts of IAS, there is a need to get an information and better understanding of the effectiveness of biological control and its social acceptability. Conservation practitioners are a particular group of stakeholders as they act in the first line to undertake control actions again IAS spread. Yet, not many research was done to deliver quantitative, comprehensive information on practitioners’ knowledge and attitudes towards IAS. In this paper, we present a study from Poland—a country with relatively well preserved nature, yet currently facing the problem of biological invasions in the terrestrial and aquatic environments. We investigated nature conservation practitioners’ knowledge of biological invasions, their views on the principles and methods of IAS control, and their degree of acceptance of control methods. We conducted a survey among people professionally involved in nature conservation in Poland and collected 916 questionnaires (out of 3330 sent). Overall, we find that conservation practitioners in Poland accept the use of radical methods of control, yet they differ about the use of various types of control method, and about the various control methods application to various systematic groups. Also, the level of practitioners’ knowledge is rather limited—both in relation to correct identification of IAS, as well as to knowledge on legal regulations. We also highlight significant differences between decision-makers and professionals not perceiving themselves as decisive over IAS management. We show examples suggesting that nature conservation practitioners may not hold well-formed opinions on the principles and methods of dealing with alien species. This is surely an important deficit to overcome to enhance the effectiveness of IAS control. |
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| Keywords: | Invasive alien species Management Control Acceptance Opinions Practitioners |
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