Training Course ‘Impact of invasive alien species on biodiversity and ecosystem services in extreme environments’

03 – 04 April 2017, Sofia, Bulgaria

ORGANISED BY:

Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research,

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBER-BAS), Bulgaria

Reykjavik University, Iceland

East and South European Network for Invasive Alien Species (ESENIAS)

Danube Region Invasive Alien Species Network (DIAS)

SUPPORTED BY:

Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area 2009-2014

Programme BG03 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

Project: East and South European Network for Invasive Alien Species –

A tool to support the management of alien species in Bulgaria

ESENIAS-TOOLS, Д-33-51/30.06.2015

Organising and Programme Committee:

Nadja Ognjanova-Rumenova

Vesela Evtimova

David Finger

Teodora Trichkova

Rumen Tomov

Violeta Tyufekchieva

Hristina Kalcheva

Ivan Botev

Training Course Overview

Invasive alien species (IAS) are among the most significant and growing environmental concerns worldwide. They are considered as a driver of biodiversity loss and recognised as being a major cause of species extinctions. Biological invasions may alter fundamental ecological properties and processes of the native ecosystems, and may have economic and social impact. It is expected that biological invasions in Europe will increase.

Owing to the projected increase in frequency and magnitude of extreme climatic events and predicted increases in average temperatures, ecosystems could be further affected by global changes. On the other hand, the invasive alien species can increase the vulnerability of ecosystems to other climate-related stressors and also reduce their potential to sequester greenhouse gasses.

The networking, awareness raising and capacity building are underlined in several European and global documents as one of the key factors for successful IAS management. One of the main objectives of the ESENIAS-TOOLS project is to raise the public awareness and gain wide support for combating IAS in Bulgaria. These objectives are implemented within the project working groups WG8 ‘Capacity building’ and WG9 ‘Awareness raising’. The present training course has been designed to address IAS impact on biodiversity and ecosystem services in extreme environments at regional level through promotion of knowledge sharing. Thus, the training course will allow improving skills and competencies of, as well as networking among scientists from the participating ESENIAS countries.

Training Course Objectives

• Capacity building and increasing awareness on IAS impact on biodiversity and ecosystem services in extreme environments among young scientists and PhD students from Bulgaria and the ESENIAS countries;
• Imparting basic skills and competencies on IAS, its related terminology, the relevant international regulatory framework, networks, projects and information systems;
• Networking and cooperation among scientists in the ESENIAS region.

Training Course Details

The language of the course will be English.

The training course is open to young scientists, PhD and MSc students from Bulgaria and the ESENIAS region.

No registration fee is required.

To apply, please submit a filled application form with a short motivation to the Organising and Programme committee at the following e-mail address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit the ESENIAS webpage www.esenias.org for more information.

The deadline for applications is 10 March 2017.

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Please download the Application form here >>>

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Contact

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For registration, accommodation and travel information.