9 June 2017

On June 2, during the three-day event "Il Cielo di Roma [The sky of Rome]", the book "Citizen Science and monitoring of alien species" was presented at the “Appia Antica” Regional Park. The book was edited by Latium Region within the Project CSMON-LIFE (Citizen Science Monitoring). Even though the project does not exclusively deal with alien species, CSMON-LIFE is a “friend” of LIFE PonDerat, as it aims at involving citizens in the conservation of biodiversity, in particular through initiatives of citizen science. One of the active campaigns of CSMON-LIFE APP, a smartphone application allowing everyone to report naturalistic observations, is dedicated to alien species.

The book uses a simple and didactic language to introduce the phenomenon of biological invasions by focusing on some key concepts. The central part of the book is made of short descriptions of 50 alien species, selected among the most "dangerous”, including those already present in the Latium region and those that could arrive in the next few years. The last part of the book suggests some practical tips to involve everyone in preventing this phenomenon. Prevention, based on citizen awareness, is also one of the objectives of LIFE PonDerat communication actions. This is why in the book there is special mention for our project, which together with CSMON LIFE and Life ASAP constitutes the core of Latium Region's activity on alien species and the prosecution of a commitment started a long time ago with the PASAL project (Project Atlas of Alien Species of Latium).