Taiwan Forestry Research Institute opens database of 210 invasive alien species

Golden apple snails, red imported fire ants, African giant snails, mile-a-minute weed... these notorious invasive alien species cost the national treasury tens of billions of yuan every year for prevention and control. The Taiwan Forestry Research Institute (TFRI) of the Council of Agriculture built the "Taiwan Invasive Alien Species Database" website, which officially opened to the public in August. However, the website design does not seem very user-friendly; some alien species have no photos, and searches show only scientific names. Zhao Rongtai, a researcher in the Forest Protection Division of TFRI, said the database gathered the opinions of 76 experts and covers 210 invasive alien species, and should be the most complete system in Taiwan at present. However, the website is still being revamped, and the content will be richer in September, so please stay tuned.

Interviewing 76 experts, listing 210 invasive alien species

Combining with the Global Invasive Species Database to block alien species

Including the TFRI system, Taiwan currently has 3 invasive alien species databases. The other 2 are the Forestry Bureau's "Invasive Alien Species Management Information Network" and the Ministry of Education's "E-Newsletter on Prevention and Control of Invasive Alien Species and Plant Pests and Diseases." Is there a problem of overlapping resources? Zhao Rongtai said he was not clear about what the other agencies' content was, but the TFRI database mainly targets invasive alien species that already exist in Taiwan.

TFRI has already provided information on 163 invasive alien species to the "Global Invasive Species Information Network." Zhao Rongtai said that as of now, Taiwan is the only Asian data provider to that website. In the past, Taiwan only knew about foreign invasive species, and other countries did not know the situation after invasive species reached Taiwan. It is hoped that this opportunity will launch international cooperation to block alien species together.