Mick Clout (pictured left) is Professor of Conservation Ecology and Director of the Centre for Biodiversity and Biosecurity at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is the founding Chair of the Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG), and is involved in a wide range of international initiatives to prevent, eradicate and manage invasive species. Before joining the staff of the University of Auckland in 1993, Mick was Research Manager and Acting Director (Protected Species) at the New Zealand Department of Conservation. Prior to that he was a scientist with DSIR Ecology Division at Nelson, New Zealand. Mick is a vertebrate ecologist and has worked extensively on the behavior and control of invasive mammals and the conservation biology of native New Zealand birds that are threatened by introduced pests.

The mission of the ISSG is to reduce threats to natural ecosystems and the native species they contain, by increasing awareness of alien invasions and of ways to prevent, control or eradicate them.

“Unfortunately, invasive alien species threaten native biodiversity in virtually every ecosystem type on earth. However, my experience in active conservation biology – for instance in working to save the kakapo (New Zealand’s flightless giant parrot), has convinced me of the many opportunities to fight back against this tide of biological inva- sions. ISSG not only advocates for special attention to invasives management, but also for consistent mainstreaming of invasive alien species issues into conservation, sustainable development and poverty alleviation,” says Mick.

ISSG’s main activities include:

• Providing technical and policy advice to assist IUCN, and to help where possible in the wider community. The overall challenge is to encourage invasive alien species issues to be addressed at local, national and international level, and to foster approaches that are strategic, empowering, and placed in an ecosystem context.
• Co-ordinating and managing the Pacific programme of the Cooperative Initiative on Invasive Alien Species on Islands. This initiative, with funding support from NZAID, is a partnership of the Group, regional organizations and NGOs. It will focus on using ‘demonstration projects’ to develop management capacity, enhance cooperative actions and raise awareness.
• Facilitating exchange of information and expertise, through publication of the Aliens newsletter, the Aliens-L listserver, and managing the Global Invasive Species Database (www.issg.org/database) which currently receives 50,700 hits per day. It is aimed to be a management and awareness tool, allowing communities to locally deploy globallysourced best practice. The ISSG is a strong advocate for IUCN’s work on the Conservation Commons.