The expert meeting is the first step to establish a regional network on forest invasive species (FIS) with the following main objectives:

• Raise awareness on FIS throughout the Europe and Central Asia region
• Exchange and share information on FIS among member countries
• Promote regional cooperation and collaboration in combating FIS

Presentations

Results from Questionnaires
Kitti Horvath, Forestry consultant, FAO REU

Regional perspective of invasive plants in forests
Ingolf Kühn, Professor for Macroecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ & Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg

The International Year Plant Health
Ralf Lopian, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland

Biological invasions in forest – regional aspects
Ferenc Lakatos, director, Institut of Silviculture and Forest Protection, University of West-Hungary

Regional perspective of «invasive» fungi in forests
Lucio Montecchio, University of Padova, Italy

Introducing the work of FAO in the Region
Norbert Winkler-Ráthonyi, Forestry Officer, Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (REU);
Peter Pechacek, Forestry Officer, Sub-regional Office for Central Asia (SEC)

Regional perspetive of invasive invertebrates in forests
Alain ROQUES, Dr., Research Scientist, INRA, France

Regional perspective on invasive alien vertebrates in forests
Wojciech Solarz, Insititute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland