In different territories, actions are chained for the invasive species control ranging from direct on-site removal to new monitoring tools and stricter regulatory frameworks. Governments, universities, research centers, and social groups are taking action to contain ecological, health, and economic impacts that are no longer hypothetical.
The approach is broad but with two constants: early detection and coordinated response. In addition to field operations, public contracts are also issued. eradication, tenders for environmental monitoring in critical infrastructure, volunteer campaigns, applied research, and regulated use options when eradication is not feasible.
Spain intensifies detection and control in rivers, coasts and countryside
Salamanca once again mobilizes hands to stop the Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea), a mollusk that clogs pipes and displaces local fauna. On September 20, from 10:30 a.m. to 13:30 p.m., the Municipal Volunteer Agency (VoluntaS program) is holding a sampling and removal in the beach bar area of ​​La Aldehuela, continuing the work started in 2022. Registrations are channeled via www.voluntariadosalamanca.com, the mail and the telephones 660 178 583 and 722 614 186. In these operations, in addition to the manual control, filters are applied to block larvae and heat treatments in closed circuits; all this in a context in which the species has been in the wild for a decade. Spanish EEI Catalogue and its use as bait is prohibited in Castile and León.
In the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the Port Authority has put out to tender a service of environmental monitoring specific to detect invasive alien marine species, prioritizing prevention and rapid response protocols. A 2019 study by the Canary Islands Government identified 33 exotic species in the environment, with fouling on hulls - especially on platforms and slow-moving oil tankers - as a vector of high riskThe sampling network will include docks, basins, piers, and breakwaters, with bids open until October 1.
In Pamplona, ​​the Local Government Board has approved contracting actions of control and eradication of invasive riparian flora in the Arga, Sadar and Elorz rivers. With a budget of 206.510,70 Euros, 10.435,5 m² will be worked on to eliminate 73 specimens of six species with the greatest presence or invasive potential: Robinia pseudoacacia, Ailanthus altissima, arundo donax, Buddleia davidii, Cortaderia Selloana y Helianthus tuberosus. The plan, linked to action B15 of the project SPEECH 2025 (with support from the Biodiversity Foundation, MITECO and Next Generation EU funds), foresees a first phase of physical and mechanical treatments - prioritizing manual removal—, followed by a dense revegetation with native plants between November and December.
The beekeeping front is also moving: the Ministry for Ecological Transition has included the Vespa orientalis in the IAS Catalogue, activating a ban on possession, breeding, transport, and release, along with a national control protocol. With the expansion detected from Cadiz in 2019 to Seville and Malaga, COAG Andalusia has traveled to Cyprus to learn proven field tactics: traps with empty hives and alcohol baits in spring to capture queens, protein baits in bottles for workers in summer and entrances that allow bees to enter but block hornets. The organization stresses the need for a European coordination to prevent these pests from gaining ground.
America and archipelagos: from population management to restoration
In the province of Entre RÃos (Argentina), a workshop at the Antonio Serrano Museum of Natural Sciences will address the control of wild boar and axis deer, species declared a pest due to their environmental and productive impact under Hunting Law No. 4.841 and Law No. 11.184. The event, organized by the Ministry of Economic Development, brings together technicians, researchers, producers and administrations to design population reduction strategies and study alternatives for the industrial use of meat with health guarantees, as explained by Secretary Raúl Boc-Hó.
In the morning, specialists from INTA, Conicet, Senasa, UNER, UADER and staff from the Ministry of the Environment will present on biology, dispersal, and control techniques; in the afternoon, the debate will be open to the productive sector with the Federation of Rural Associations of Entre RÃos, the Agrarian Federation, and representatives of the meatpacking industry. The event includes a presentation by Bruno Carpinetti, a leader in population ecology and risk management, with experience in management in different ecosystems.
In the Galapagos Islands, a recent study documents how the expansion of Cedrela odorata —introduced in the 40s— is interfering with the migratory routes of the giant tortoises of Santa Cruz, colonizing more than 1.700 hectares and forming plant barriers. The cedar forests show, according to the data, a 42% less wealth of endemic species and 17% less diversity than native formations such as those of Scalesia due to the effect of shading and allelopathy.
El Parque Nacional Galápagos acts on 60 priority hectares with logging, targeted herbicides and reforestation with native plants, reaching up to 60.000 seedlings planted per year. However, the lack of funding and the rapid invasion of Rubus niveus after the openings complicate the consolidation of the advances. The closure of corridors not only threatens the mobility of Chelonoidis porteri —listed as critically endangered— but also its role as ecological engineers in the dynamics of island ecosystems.
Technology and regulated use make their way into control
In the Argentine Sea, a team from CESIMAR-Conicet and UNED has combined broadband acoustics (Simrad EK80 echo sounder) and artificial intelligence to map the expansion of the algae Undaria pinnatifida between 5 and 10 meters deep. With diving and video validations, the models achieved accuracies of 75% to 95% depending on the variables used (for example, a minimum acoustic height of 22 cm clearly discriminated presence), generating useful maps for control planning.
The algae, first detected in 1992 in the New Gulf and now extended from Mar del Plata to Puerto Deseado, alters communities and food chains. The limitations—deep seabed or turbidity—do not diminish the operational usefulness of the technique, which offers cost-effective monitoring on a large scale for port managers and authorities and is transferable to other invasive coastal species.
When total eradication is not viable, alternatives are explored. sustainable use under scientific control, such as the harvesting of Undaria for food (wakame) or the production of compounds of interest (fucoidans, fucoxanthin, polyphenols, phytosterols). In parallel, the productive route is also on the table in the case of wild boar and axis deer in Entre RÃos, always subject to health standards and to helping reduce pressure on the environment.
At the regulatory level, the European Union has strengthened its strategy by including severe restrictions on invasive ornamentals such as Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera), banning its commercialization, cultivation and possession, and promoting alternatives safe ornamentals to alleviate pressure on riverbanks and wetlands. These legal measures accompany technical and social measures to prevent new introductions and contain existing ones.
The mosaic of actions—volunteering, eradication contracts, port surveillance, applied research, and legal frameworks—shapes a more mature response to biological invasions: prevent, detect early, act quickly and, where appropriate, use in a regulated mannerThe key lies in coordination between administrations and sectors, sustained funding, and citizen involvement to ensure these initiatives don't fall by the wayside.
