Implementing the European policies for alien species: networking, science, and partnership in a complex environment

The European Commission has recognized the need for more stringent action to manage biological invasions and has committed to develop a dedicated legislative instrument. Under this upcoming legislation, European countries and their relevant institutions will have additional obligations and commitments in respect to invasive alien species. In September 2012, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) launched the European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN) to facilitate the exploration of existing alien species information from distributed sources and to assist the implementation of European policies on biological invasions. Subsequent to the launching of EASIN, there was an evident need to define its niche within a complex environment of global, European, regional and national information systems. Herein we propose an organizational chart clearly defining the role of each actor in this framework, and we emphasize the need for collaboration in order to effectively support EU policies.