The Life RIPARIAS project is studying the most effective control methods for the eradication of invasive alien species (IAS). To do so, it focuses on several pilot areas: the Dyle, Senne and Marcq river basins. The project will benefit from a budget of 7 million euros to be spread over 6 years (2021-2026) to carry out its mission.
The Life RIPARIAS project is the result of a European regulation for the prevention and management of the spread of invasive alien species (IAS). In the wake of Life AlterIAS, the project to raise awareness of invasive plants in the early 2010s, Riparias begins the new iteration of the fight to protect biodiversity.
Arnaud Monty, Professor at Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, targets the different perpetrators of invasions: "We have identified 12 invasive plant species and 3 crayfish species whose presence in Belgium is problematic. Among the best known, there is the Giant Hogweed, the Himalayan Balsam, the Louisiana Crayfish, etc. Our mission is to restore the impacted natural environments and to evaluate the benefits. We are also monitoring to detect ongoing invasions".
The IAS suffix in the name of these projects comes from an English term: "invasive alien species". This means "invasive alien species (IAS)". These species brought from distant countries could not have arrived here without human help. They then find a favorable climate and few predators. The winning combo for an overflowing propagation.
The damage caused by IAS on Belgian territory is estimated at nearly 20 million euros per year (threat to health, well-being and human activities). "When we eradicate IAS from an area, it is possible that other relatively close outbreaks will take advantage of the space freed up to move in. It's a bit of a cat-and-mouse game. So we need to develop different approaches to anticipate these risks. We need to ensure the best chance of success for our future actions. Obviously, we need to avoid unnecessary expenditure of energy. That's part of what we're looking at in this project".
Life RIPARIAS is also working on the development of a management tool to map invasions, define the most effective containment methods and prevent the risks of re-invasion.
Citizens will have a role to play in keeping our biodiversity healthy. Various platforms (iNaturalist and observations.be) will be able to host testimonies and the location of invaders by 2022. Life Riparias will communicate on this subject in due time. Do not hesitate to encode your observations on these platforms.
In the same theme, the Walloon Ambrosia Observatory, led by the Biodiversity and Landscape team of Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, continues its fight against the spread of ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) in Wallonia.
Brewed in Charleroi until 2022, Gembloux.Beer S.A. was looking forward to the opening of its brewery located on the campus of Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech. To mark this event, an inauguration party was held on April 28, 2023.
The TERRA Research Center sees the deployment of new vegetable plots of the WASABI urban agriculture and biodiversity platform.
An agri-voltaism project will be launched on the WASABI site, a space dedicated in particular to innovative systems for urban biodiversity.
