From rapid response to increasing resilience: Synergizing ecosystem approach and early action in invasive alien species management

Invasive alien species (IAS) pose an increasing threat to biodiversity and ecosystem functionality, demanding a shift toward integrated management across different phases of the invasion curve. Traditional management approaches focus on eradication or continuous population control, which are often costly and unsustainable once an invader becomes widespread. To overcome these challenges, the LIFE RESILIAS project introduces an ecosystem-oriented approach that prioritizes strengthening ecosystem resilience over symptom management. By restoring abiotic and biotic conditions and actively introducing native competitors, the Ecosystem Resilience Approach (ERA) aims to lower the carrying capacity of an ecosystem for invaders to facilitate establishing self-regulating processes. However, managing biological invasions efficiently requires addressing multiple stages of the invasion continuum. While LIFE RESILIAS focuses on systems where species have already established and degraded natural buffering capacities, LIFE RIPARIAS optimizes the initial phases of the curve through Early Detection and Rapid Response and highly coordinated cross-border stakeholder engagement. At a joint workshop conducted during the InterLIFE Benelux 2025 meeting, the two projects explored how these frameworks can mutually reinforce one another to create a more comprehensive IAS management strategy. Integrating RIPARIAS's rapid detection workflows can safeguard resilient ecosystems from new introductions. Conversely, applying RESILIAS's resilience-building techniques in these peripheral areas reduces empty ecological niches, decreasing the overall likelihood of recolonization and development of invaders. By bridging early-stage eradication protocols with long-term ecosystem restoration, the combined insights from RIPARIAS and RESILIAS offer a replicable, dual-layered workflow. This joint perspective demonstrates that effective invasive species management is not merely about suppressing individual target species, but about fundamentally working on early detection, rapid action, and facilitating the ecosystem's self-regulating processes to decrease its vulnerability to invasions.