Alien Species.vp - IUCN

home”. Hence the abundant “English” bird population of blackbirds, thrushes and sparrows
that will greet visitors to New Zealand. It is an understandable part of human nature; after all,
the familiar plants, animals and landscapes profoundly influence individuals and whole
cultures alike.
How can that need to belong be harnessed in the prevention of further biodiversity loss
through invasion? By encouraging pride in your local place on the planet. By explaining, for
instance as part of the school curriculum, that every region has its biological distinctions, and
that we have a choice of either keeping and protecting our endemics and other natives, or
allowing global “blandification” to replace them. A “Support New Zealand-made products”
campaign encourages us to support our own economy and “support our special and unique
biodiversity” is a widely endorsed attitude in New Zealand. Many may not be able to tell you
exactly which plants and birds are native and which ones are not, but almost every single New
Zealander knows that there is such thing as a kiwi, and that kiwi are unique and irreplaceable
and “ours” to protect … and hence they support eradication of introduced predators on the
national bird. Taking pride in what makes one’s own area different can provide a great sense of
belonging. It is not a big step to get the message across that this uniqueness will not survive if
alien invasions are left unchecked.
Fairness
Another fairly widely represented human trait seems to be the attempt to deal with issues of
fairness. This is why in any David and Goliath situation we tend to be on David’s side. If the
picture perceived is one of big humans versus “poor little fluffy squirrels”, sympathy will be
with the squirrels (see Genovesi and Bertolino, this volume). In the portrayal of “the army”
versus the “wild” Kaimanua horses in New Zealand (Veitch and Clout, this volume), a lot of
people’s sympathy was not with the army. In addition, wishing to remove an IAS may be
portrayed as “xenophobic” or even provoke comparisons with Nazi attitudes.
However, the same desire for fairness is also what makes us dislike bullies and pushy people
(or species). So, imagine the previous picture recast as the “big bully grey squirrel” invading
red squirrel habitat in Italy. In addition, to those who like using second world war human
analogues, it may be pointed out that leaving alien invasion unchecked will eventually result in
almost complete global domination by the relative few, whereas preventing new invasions and
mitigating existing ones will result in a continued co-existence (on a GLOBAL scale).
A cautionary note needs to be added here: in the context of “fairness” (as well as ecological
accuracy) it needs to be pointed out that it is counterproductive to vilify or “demonise” invading
species. An invasive alien species is not a bad species, only a species behaving badly in a place
where it does not belong. In its home country, the same species may well be duly and strictly
protected.
Change of perception over time
In the previous paragraphs, I gave some examples of how people’s perception (and values) can
exert a major influence over the outcome in invasive alien species issues.
I am a firm believer that perceptions and hence attitudes can change in time, and that
increased education and awareness-raising on invasive alien issues are not only very urgently
needed but also a very worthwhile investment of resources.
It is sometimes said that the concept of a species being “fine” in its native range, but doing
ecological damage when it is “out of its place” is a difficult one to understand for the public,
especially if the species in question is a pretty plant or cuddly furry animal. My view on this is
much more optimistic: most people are perfectly able to understand this and act on it, provided
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Human dimensions of invasive alien species