Work Package 4 is all about action—eradicating, containing, and controlling priority invasive species. Once we know where and on which species to act—based on insights from impact studies, risk assessments, and modelling—the key question becomes: what management measures are actually feasible?
That’s where risk management comes in. Too often, managers are left to make these decisions on their own, with limited tools to guide them. Our goal is to change that. We’re developing an evidence-based decision support tool that can predict the likelihood of success for different management actions, grounded in real-world case studies.
To build such a tool, we’ll collect examples from our own project, scientific literature, and international sources, working closely with partners like Conservation Evidence and the IUCN. We’ll also focus on improving how IAS management is reported.
Beyond this tool, we aim to foster a strong, collaborative network of IAS managers and experts across Europe through a Community of Practice. We’ll organise hands-on workshops with scientists, stakeholders, and—crucially—practitioners, to co-create knowledge and strengthen on-the-ground capacity.
Finally, we’ll explore the broader social and ecological dimensions of IAS management, using various network analysis methods in collaboration with other partners. These activities will also be shaped by the perspectives and input of workshop participants, ensuring the work stays relevant to real conservation needs.
Work Package 4 Deliverables:
2026 Updates
To launch a European community of practice, the team will host three key stakeholder workshops in 2026, starting with invasive freshwater plants in Ghent, Belgium (18–19 May), followed by crayfish in Florence, Italy (25–26 May), and eDNA in Belfast, Northern Ireland (23-27 August).
In addition to these events, the team is completing a literature review on intervention effectiveness in collaboration with partners like Conservation Evidence to create new contingency planning guidance.
We are also analysing existing freshwater and marine plans to help authorities draft tailored response frameworks, while ongoing data collection populates an open database for our decision-support tools.
Tim: I’m especially looking forward to the best management practice workshops on aquatic plants, crayfish, and the use of environmental DNA. Field managers typically excel at what they do best: managing invasive species, working outdoors to protect nature, and experimenting with innovative management techniques. They often don’t attend scientific conferences, but they greatly value exchanging experiences with fellow field practitioners. Across Europe, there’s strong support for hands-on conservation work, yet efforts can feel fragmented. That’s why I’m particularly excited about bringing together this community of practice at an international level—creating space for connection, shared learning, and collaboration.
Elena: Assessing what works in management and sharing experiences are two key aspects I am very looking forward to seeing developed in WP4 through its tasks and outcomes, i.e. the database on management interventions, the workshops on best practices and lessons learned from case studies also through the ten tenets approach. In particular, the workshops will play a vital role in engaging local stakeholders and fostering a European community of practice. Beyond securing a lasting legacy for GuardIAS, this initiative will hopefully drive more effective management of aquatic species, an objective that is incredibly important to me.
Tim: In GuardIAS, I co-lead a work package alongside Elena Tricarico, who is not only highly knowledgeable but also a great colleague to collaborate with. What’s exciting is that we’re not just coordinating—we’re actively involved in the work ourselves. One of the biggest challenges will be compiling key information from invasive species management projects across Europe. It’s a daunting task, but also one I find genuinely thrilling and look forward to tackling. I also really enjoy being part of the GuardIAS team—working with the Ten Tennet partners, learning from their diverse expertise, and acting as a bridge between them and the biological invasions team at INBO.
Elena: IAS management has always been one of the main focuses of my work. Sharing the leadership of WP4 on this aspect with Tim Adriaens—a close friend, brilliant colleague, and renowned management expert—is a true honour and a fantastic opportunity. I am also very excited to be part of the GuardIAS family, which brings together different skills, approaches and experts from which I can learn a lot. These next three years will surely be an incredible journey, allowing me to grow both professionally and personally.
Tim: Without a doubt, the most significant development is the European early warning tool we’re building in collaboration with the EASIN team and our sister project, OneSTOP. This tool is designed to ensure that new records of invasive species are swiftly directed to the appropriate authority and field managers. It builds on an open-source platform developed at our institute for the LIFE RIPARIAS project, and we’re hopeful it can be fully integrated into the EASIN ecosystem. Besides this, working with the smart modellers of Belinda Gallardo’s WP3 team who work on species prioritisation and Jonathan Jeschke’s team who are strong on social-ecological interactions will be great. Such networks are novel tools that can help us solve conflict in invasive species management.
Elena: I would say WP5 on Stakeholder engagement and social-ecological interactions, which I consider fundamental to successful IAS management and crucial for improving public understanding of biological invasions. I am particularly intrigued by the gamification approach (as a big fan of games!) and the social-ecological networks that can facilitate the development of more effective species management alongside with stakeholders. Additionally, the part on modelling and species/site prioritisation work of WP3 will be incredibly helpful for WP4.
Tim: Absolutely. I believe that developing a data-informed decision support tool to help managers assess the feasibility of planned actions will provide a solid foundation for future efforts in invasive species risk management. While previous initiatives have laid important groundwork, GuardIAS will go further—building on these efforts and expanding them through close collaboration with international partners. Ultimately, I hope that making such tools available to managers will strengthen evidence-based conservation efforts against invasive species. After all, that’s what we’re all striving for: to conduct research that truly makes a difference.
Elena: Definitely. Alongside the European community of practice we will launch during the project, the development of a decision support tool will be a major breakthrough for species management. By leveraging data from conservation evidence regarding what works in IAS management, I truly hope this tool will minimize the likelihood of wasted resources and effort, proving how research can support and improve IAS control activities.
“Work Package 4 is all about action—eradicating, containing, and controlling priority invasive species.“
“For over 35 years, since I first began studying non-indigenous species, I have dreamed of tools that could reveal the ‘Big Picture’ of the transfer, spread, and impacts of invasive aquatic species. Thanks to advances in new technologies, the GuardIAS project now offers an outstanding opportunity to make that vision a reality.”
Tim started in 2000 as a landscape ecologist at the Institute for Nature Conservation, working on ecological networks. He then initiated work on invasive species at the institute.
He coordinates research on invasive species and is very active in international projects focused on sustainable control, surveillance and early warning systems, citizen science, horizon scanning and risk assessment, impact research and human dimensions.
His portfolio includes many international projects, such as LIFE, Interreg, and Horizon projects, as well as assignments for the European Commission and IUCN. Since 2024, Tim has been part of the INBO management team. He oversees the teams Species Diversity, Open Science Lab for Biodiversity and Wildlife Management & Invasive Species.
