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What are Invasive species?

Find out more about invasive species and why they threaten our world.

Calendar of events

Workshops, conferences and events focusing on invasive species.

Websites and online databases

Search for websites and online databases about invasives species.

History of GISP : Phase I

In 1996, concern that globalization was having negative consequences on the environment led the United Nations and the Government of Norway to convene the first international meeting on invasive alien species (IAS) in Trondeim, Norway. Participants in the "Trondheim Conference" concluded that IAS had become one of the most significant threats to biodiversity worldwide and recommended that a global strategy and mechanism to address the problem be created immediately. In 1997, The Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP) was established.

In the first phase of GISP (Phase I; 1997-2000), an international team of scientists, environmentalists, lawyers, natural resource managers, policy makers, and other IAS experts volunteered their time to execute a specific programme of work . The Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE), IUCN (formerly the World Conservation Union), CABI (formerly the Centre for Applied Biosciences International (CAB International)) co-administered the effort. This collaboration resulted in a series of global assessments of the problem, as well as a global strategy, a toolkit of best prevention and management practices, and an initial pilot database coordinated by partner, IUCN led by the Invasive Species Specialist Group..

Since 1997, the demand for GISP's productive, multi-disciplinary approach has grown dramatically, necessitating its evolution into a programme that openly engages the expertise and capacity of an even wider variety of stakeholders. At a March 2001 meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), GISP released a Call to Action, inviting all stakeholders to become members of a "GISP Partnership Network" More than 50 governments, as well as numerous industries, scientific institutes, non-governmental organizations, and intergovernmental organizations have signed the Call to Action, making GISP a truly co-operative programme of global-scale.

Read more about GISP Phase I

The transition to GISP Phase II

The development of a Phase II implementation Plan was initiated at the GISP Phase I Synthesis Conference Cape Town, South Africa in September, 2000. At the meeting, representatives from 42 governments, 17 intergovernmental institutions (including key Conventions, scientific institutes and development assistance agencies) and 17 national and non-governmental organizations provided input on establish priorities for Phase II. GISP presented these priorities at the sixth meeting of the CBD SBSTTA and incorporated feedback from the Parties and other bodies. The Phase II initiatives of GISP reflect the findings and recommendations of a four-year assessment conducted in collaboration with major GISP stakeholders.