Our Mission and Objectives

INVASIVESNET mission - to facilitate a greater understanding and management of biological invasions by creating a global sustainable network of networks of all interested and affected stakeholders for development and effective exchange of open high quality knowledge and open data on invasive species.

Facilitation of the development and delivery of high quality open knowledge and open data on biological invasions and invasive alien species to all stakeholders globally is the priority objective of the Association. This primarily objective is achieved by:

- Enabling enhanced accessibility to open sources of knowledge including thematic open access journals and to existing open databases on IAS;

- Encouraging and facilitating free access to results of scientific research of biological invasions and invasive species globally, specifically by encouraging open access publications of scientists and other data holders;

- Developing relevant funding infra-structure to support open access publications on IAS;

- Working with commercial publishers to encourage free access of all IAS-related research and data published in their journals and books.

Other activities of the Association include the initiatives to:

- Develop technical tools and cyber-infrastructure for the collection, management and dissemination of data and information on IAS to a global audience;

- Create an effective communication platform on IAS-related issues for all interested stakeholders;

- Support and promote international meetings and workshops on IAS;

- Support and promote education, outreach and training on IAS science and management;

- Support and promote effective citizen science related initiatives on IAS;

- Support research on IAS in developing countries;

- Collaborate with industries and companies and other stakeholders to develop and facilitate effective solutions for IAS-related issues;

- Suggest how international legislation on IAS, namely the targeted Convention on Biological Diversity decisions and other relevant international agreements, can be implemented effectively based on solid scientific evidence;

- Develop uniform guiding principles among stakeholders, based on solid and transparent IAS scientific criteria and advice from practitioners, managers, decision makers and policy makers;

- Establish protocols and agreements with governments, agencies and private industries for data and knowledge management, archiving and publication, including online databases and journals;

- Recognize outstanding contributions made by members of the Association on the research and management of IAS.

INVASIVESNET Statutes, version for download (pdf)