Building Resilience Through Citizen Science-Driven Approaches to Invasive Species

Fostering resilience in ecological systems is a cornerstone of European Union programs (e.g. Climate, Environment & Maritime) aimed at ensuring a sustainable future, especially when we consider the ecological disruptions determined by the spread and establishment of Invasive Alien Species (IAS). They pose a formidable threat to global biodiversity, undermining the resilience of ecological stability and exerting substantial pressures on vital ecosystem functions and services. In Europe alone, an estimated 11% of approximately 12,000 introduced species are classified as invasive, inflicting extensive environmental, economic, and social harms. Recent assessments highlight that it will be difficult to achieve the ambitious goals of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 in terms of reducing the impacts exerted by IAS due to the inadequate level of knowledge and the fragmentation of competencies. As a result, we need to reconsider management strategies for IAS, demanding for more integrated, effective knowledge that encompasses multidisciplinary, inter-sectoral, and international dimensions. To achieve this, the project BUILDERS has the ambition to combine three pivotal disciplines: (i) Citizen Science, (ii) the study of animal behaviour and (iii) the bio-functioning monitoring. The integration of the respective approaches not only innovatively addresses the complex challenges posed by IAS - overcoming disciplinary barriers - but also promotes the career advancement of researchers and professionals in the field at various stages. The objective of BUILDERS is to provide advanced training opportunities through a network of 7 academic and 4 non-academic partners spread across 6 European countries—Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Italy, Portugal, and Romania—and Brazil.