Davis, California, June 2026 — an international workshop was convened by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) at the University of California, Davis, and funded by the U.S.-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund (BARD). This workshop brought together researchers, practitioners, and industry leaders to chart a path forward for technology-driven invasive species research and management.
Biological invasions are one of the leading drivers of global biodiversity loss, threatening ecosystems, economies, and human well-being on every continent. As the pace of globalization accelerates the spread of invasive species, the scientific community is increasingly turning to artificial intelligence, remote sensing, and data-driven tools to strengthen detection, monitoring, and management responses. In June 2026, UNU-INWEH and UC Davis, with support from BARD, convened an international expert workshop to address this challenge directly, marking a significant milestone in the collaboration between invasion biology and modern technology.
About the Workshop
The Workshop on Invasion Science and Technology 2026 brought together an interdisciplinary group of researchers, conservation practitioners, and technology specialists from six different countries and 13 institutions. They collaboratively explored how cutting-edge computational tools, including foundation models, machine learning, and geospatial technologies, can be integrated into invasion science workflows. The workshop reflected a shared commitment to translating scientific innovation into actionable policy and management guidance. BARD's support, which has long underpinned binational agricultural and environmental research, made this cross-institutional collaboration possible.
Participants engaged across thematic sessions on species distribution modeling, early detection systems, risk assessment frameworks, remote sensing applications, and the governance of open biodiversity data. Keynote presentations and working group discussions fostered a rich exchange of ideas across disciplinary boundaries, from weed science and biogeography to data infrastructure and policy communication.
Key Themes and Outcomes
A key output of the workshop is a collaborative research agenda and a set of priority recommendations that will inform future funding proposals, manuscripts, and policy engagement at the international level.
The workshop was designed as a two-day process to move from diagnosis to solution-building. Day one focused on identifying the current landscape of challenges, open questions, and knowledge gaps in invasion science and technology. Day two shifted towards developing opportunities and conceptualizing practical solutions, with the aim of translating emerging AI tools and ideas into more actionable approaches for research, monitoring, and management.
Mornings featured presentations that introduced current work, emerging methods, and critical perspectives from across the field. Afternoons were dedicated to workshop sessions and group work, giving participants time to discuss priorities, test ideas collaboratively, and develop shared directions for future work.
Several cross-cutting themes emerged from the workshop's sessions and discussions:
- Foundation models and AI in ecology: Participants examined the growing potential of large-scale foundation models, pre-trained on diverse ecological and remote sensing datasets, to accelerate species identification, range forecasting, and threat prioritization at global scales.
- Data integration and open science: A recurring emphasis was placed on harmonizing biodiversity informatics platforms, such as GBIF and iNaturalist, with novel sensor and IoT data streams to build more responsive, near-real-time monitoring pipelines.
- Risk assessment and regulation: Working groups examined current gaps in weed risk assessment frameworks and explored how machine learning tools could improve the speed and consistency of regulatory decision-making across jurisdictions.
- Spatio-temporal modeling: Advances in biogeographic distribution modeling were presented, highlighting opportunities to better quantify propagule pressure, trade pathway dynamics, and climate-driven range shifts.
- Outreach and knowledge transfer: Participants underscored the critical importance of bridging the gap between technical innovation and on-the-ground management to ensure that new tools are accessible, interpretable, and actionable for practitioners.
A key output of the workshop is a collaborative research agenda and a set of priority recommendations to inform future funding proposals, manuscript development, and international policy engagement.
Why This Matters
Invasive species cost the global economy an estimated USD $423 billion annually and are implicated in a significant proportion of recorded species extinctions. Despite growing awareness, management responses remain fragmented, under-resourced, and often reactive. The integration of AI and emerging technologies represents a genuine opportunity to shift this paradigm, enabling earlier detection, more accurate risk forecasting, and more efficient allocation of limited management resources.
UNU-INWEH's engagement in this space reflects the institute's broader mission to generate and translate policy-relevant environmental science for sustainable development. By convening experts across ecology, informatics, and governance, the workshop modeled the kind of cross-sector collaboration that complex environmental challenges demand.
Looking Ahead
The organizers and participants are committed to translating the workshop's outcomes into tangible scientific and policy products. Planned next steps include developing a collaborative manuscript synthesizing the workshop's findings, engaging with international bodies on data governance frameworks for invasive species monitoring, and continuing the partnership among UNU-INWEH, UC Davis, and the broader invasion science community.
BARD's investment in this workshop is a testament to the fund's forward-looking approach to agricultural and environmental sustainability, recognizing that the next generation of invasion management tools will be as digital as they are ecological.
For more information about the workshop, including the full agenda and participant list, visit invasion-science-technology.github.io/workshop-2026.
