Opportunities for classical biological control of weeds in European overseas territories.

Abstract

Ultra~PeripheralRegions(UPRs) that are an int part oftheEurop~an Union and 21 Overseas Co and Territories (OeTs) thatbenefit from a systen1~'\Kt!'.•'.." close association ('fable 1). Hereafter these twlJ girOl:!PS '. are jointly, referred to as European Overse~s Re:gloios and TerritorieS (BORTs). These BORTs are hOIld~'!W biodiversity of worldwide importance, and Vl'l,~thi":!iîJf" perior to that of continental EUrope as a whole. FrenchUPRs and 13 oeTs are involved in four the 34 world biodiversity 'hotspots' (Conservat International"2006; Mittermeier et al., 2005). Mittetmeier,President of Conservation InterrlatjloIl~Âj.•/.' stated that the most remarkable places on Earth also the most tbreatened, and it is in these territc.I1~~• that the speed of species extinction is the fastest world{. wide. These territories have also hosted many spec;i es introductions-mainly plants, sorne ofwhich havebec ome inyasive., For instance, over the last 300 years, Opportunities for classical biological control of weeds in European overseas territories It is well knùwn that invasive alien speciesare con~. sidered to be one of the greatest tbreats to biodiyersity' after habitat degradation, particularly in island ecosystems. European ovetseas territories consist of seven