You can now report invasive alien species with the iNaturalist application

Aug. 10, 2023

Within the scope of Action E5 – “Public engagement and volunteering programme”, the LIFE IP AZORES NATURA project had initially planned to develop a citizen science application for reporting new sightings of alien and invasive flora/fauna species, wherever it was sharing knowledge possible, increasing our perception of the species that exist in the Region and improving our response time in relation to new invasions, as well as building a community committed to the detection of alien and invasive species.

In the search for partnerships and ideas for the development of this project, we noticed that there is already a platform with the same characteristics and objectives, in line with those defined at the beginning of the project for this action. In fact, the BioDiversity4All/iNaturalist platform already has this type of application, with the LIFE IP AZORES NATURA project having created a project called: Flora and Fauna of the Azores - LIFE IP AZORES NATURA, making it possible, from now on, to:

– Register any native and invasive alien species, being able to contribute with records of the species considered relevant;

– Receive indications to help identify species, with valuable suggestions and guidance;

– Have the opportunity to actively participate in validating the identification of species recorded by other citizens, increasing the accuracy of records and promoting a community based on shared knowledge.

You can download the application through the App Store (IOS) or Play Store (Android) and join the project (https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/flora-and-fauna-of-the-azores-life-ip-azores-natura). In just a few steps, you will be able to start doing research, register new sightings and reports of some species of flora not yet identified in the Region. Help us in this mission!

Learn more about this project, coordinated by the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change, at www.lifeazoresnatura.eu.