Last summer an article caught my eye about the spread of Lionfish in Antigua’s waters, an invasive and predatory creature. The news made me curious if there were other invasive species worthy of  catchphrases and surely enough I wasn’t disappointed to find a diverse selection of tigers and bears.

Invasive species, as the name suggests, originate outside of the ecosystem in which they are found. Thousands of years of climate shifts and our urge to conquer new lands have led to major disruptions that threaten native environments, making them susceptible to damaged local biodiversity, food production, and even human health.

In 2005, ICT Update published an issue on invasive species, marking GIS and other tech responses to the monitoring and elimination of threatening pests. Since this publication there have been successful ICT approaches and projects for invasive alien prevention. What’s my favorite one, you may ask? Well, it’s actually a free, simple to use mobile application called What’s Invasive! With this downloadable application one can geo-tag invasive plants and animals that are specific to the desired geographic location. With this information concerned citizens and other groups can monitor growth patterns and participate in eradication campaigns. Currently, the application is vigorously used in American, Canadian, and European parks. With its easily accessible databases, nature education and other public outreach programs in coordination with  this mobile app can greatly empower local communities to address issues of environmental protection and climate change.