The costs for the European society are striking: € 12 billions in damage caused annually by invasive species to the European Union, not counting damage to biodiversity. The Life Invasaqua project, launched last month, aims to raise awareness of the problems caused by invasive species in rivers and reservoirs in Spain and Portugal.

It is therefore a serious problem in Spain and Portugal. These countries should collaborate in combating these species, as they share rivers and reservoirs and therefore “problematic”.

As an example of one of these dangerous organisms in the natural environment of the two Iberian countries, Life Invasaqua refers to “red swamp crayfish”, a North American species that destroys rice fields, causing “millions of euros” in damages to the country. As the crayfish can migrate freely there is also a serious threat to biological pools.

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