On the 5th of February 2021, at 11.00 AM, NECCA organized the 4th Regional Stakeholders' Meeting in Greece. The meeting was held as an on-line event, lasted about 3 hours and was attended by 47 stakeholders, representing public authorities, management bodies of protected areas, universities/research centers, environmental NGOs and hunters' and fishers' associations. The subject of this meeting was the evaluation of the territories' and ecosystems' vulnerability to IAS. There were several presentations from stakeholders, covering a wide range of ecosystems, marine and terrestrial. During the meeting, it was confirmed that IAS can have serious effects on the ecosystems and the local biodiversity, as demonstrated in various examples. There are also strong indications that some ecosystems and territories (e.g. riparian woodlands) are more vulnerable to biological invasions, although further research is needed on this area. The presentations were followed by a fruitful discussion among the participants, which included the possibilities of cooperation and synergies between them. There was a general agreement on the need of raising public awareness on IAS, not only among common citizens but also including public authorities, since they often have a limited knowledge of the problem.
