Black, Watch and Alert Lists of IAS are an important tool for public and private actors in Luxembourg. They are helpful in the decision making process and for setting priorities in the prevention, containment and control of invasive alien species.

Black, Watch and Alert Lists reflect the current knowledge in the scientific research. Nevertheless, new alien species will keep coming to our country and IAS that have been here for a long time can suddenly become invasive. Therefore, the lists are never conclusive but rather temporary and dynamic, constantly discussed and updated by groups of experts.

Listed IAS relevant to Luxembourg

The following table presents the numbers of listed IAS relevant to Luxembourg and mentions the number of these species as well listed on the list of IAS of EU concern.

List definitions

• Black List¹: List of invasive neophytes that currently have or are expected to have a high spread potential in a given country based on current knowledge. In addition, damages are high and confirmed in the sectors of biodiversity, ecosystem services, health and/or economy. Occurrence and spread of these species must be prevented.
• Watch List: The Watch List enumerates invasive alien species that currently have or are expected to have a medium to high spread potential in Luxembourg based on current knowledge. In addition, damages are medium to high in the sectors of biodiversity, ecosystem services, health and/or economy. Occurrence and spread of these species must at least be observed, and new information and data about them must be collected and compiled.
• Alert List: The main purpose of the Alert List is to achieve early warning and draw the attention to invasive alien species not yet present in Luxembourg, but already present in neighbouring areas and thus presenting a risk.
• White List: Species having low or no negative impact on biodiversity and ecosystems.
• Red List: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List), founded in 1964, is the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. A series of Regional Red Lists are produced by countries or organisations, which assess the risk of extinction to species within a political management unit. The IUCN Red List is set upon precise criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of species and subspecies. These criteria are relevant to all species and all regions of the world. The aim is to convey the urgency of conservation issues to the public and policy makers, as well as help the international community to try to reduce species extinction.