RATO - Daily operations commissioned by the province East Flanders, Belgium

Occurrence Observation
Latest version published by RATO vzw on Mar 3, 2026 RATO vzw
Publication date:
3 March 2026
Published by:
RATO vzw
License:
CC0 1.0

Download the latest version of this resource data as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) or the resource metadata as EML or RTF:

Data as a DwC-A file download 45,937 records in English (3 MB) - Update frequency: as needed
Metadata as an EML file download in English (16 KB)
Metadata as an RTF file download in English (12 KB)

Description

RATO - Daily operations commissioned by the province East Flanders, Belgium  is an occurrence dataset published by RATO. It contains management actions on invasive alien and nuisance species, predominantly in and commissioned by the province of East Flanders. Here it is published as a standardized Darwin Core Archive. Issues with the dataset can be reported at https://github.com/riparias/rato-occurrences/issues.We have released this dataset to the public domain under a Creative Commons Zero waiver. We would appreciate it if you follow the INBO norms for data use (https://www.inbo.be/en/norms-data-use) when using the data. If you have any questions regarding this dataset, don't hesitate to contact us via the contact information provided in the metadata or via opendata@inbo.be.This dataset was published as open data for the LIFE RIPARIAS project (Reaching Integrated and Prompt Action in Response to Invasive Alien Species https://www.riparias.be/), with technical support provided by the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO).

Data Records

The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 3,807 records.

This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.

Versions

The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

The publisher and rights holder of this work is RATO vzw. To the extent possible under law, the publisher has waived all rights to these data and has dedicated them to the Public Domain (CC0 1.0). Users may copy, modify, distribute and use the work, including for commercial purposes, without restriction.

GBIF Registration

This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 69351197-880d-4100-8e69-e80babf3fdd7.  RATO vzw publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Belgian Biodiversity Platform.

Keywords

Occurrence; Observation; East-Flanders; RATO; IAS; pest control; damage prevention; flood control; nuisance species

Contacts

Anke Stefens
  • Metadata Provider
  • Originator
  • Point Of Contact
Rattenbestrijding Oost-Vlaanderen vzw (RATO vzw)
BE
Karel Van Moer
  • Originator
Rattenbestrijding Oost-Vlaanderen vzw (RATO vzw)
BE
Lien Reyserhove
  • Originator
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
BE
Damiano Oldoni
  • Originator
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
Pieter Huybrechts
  • Originator
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
Peter Desmet
  • Originator
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)

Geographic Coverage

East Flanders, Belgium

Bounding Coordinates South West [50.69, 3.3], North East [51.38, 4.33]

Taxonomic Coverage

Invasive alien and nuisance species.

Species Rattus norvegicus (brown rat), Ondatra zibethicus (muskrat)

Temporal Coverage

Start Date 2021-10-11

Project Data

The spread of invasive alien species (IAS) is not hampered by administrative borders. Aquatic IAS, in particular, spread rapidly through the hydrographic network. To effectively control such species requires coordinated management at higher spatial scales. LIFE RIPARIAS (Reaching Integrated and Prompt Action in Response to Invasive Alien Species) aims to achieve such coordination across regional borders in Belgium, supported by open data and open infrastructure for early warning and management reporting. LIFE RIPARIAS aims at improving decision making on IAS management, early warning systems and management reporting tools. To this end, it develops an evidence-based workflow, translating national management objectives into concrete actions in an efficient manner. Ultimately the project aims at increasing the conservation status of aquatic and riparian habitats. More information on LIFE RIPARIAS is available at the project homepage: https://www.riparias.be/.

Title Reaching Integrated and Prompt Action in Response to Invasive Alien Species (LIFE RIPARIAS)
Identifier LIFE RIPARIAS
Funding LIFE RIPARIAS is co-funded by the three Belgian regions and the European Union in the framework of the LIFE Programme (LIFE19 NAT/BE/000953). It is running from 2021 to 2026.
Study Area Description Dijle, Mark and Zenne river basin of the Scheldt district, Belgium.
Design Description LIFE RIPARIAS focuses on aquatic and riparian plants as well as crayfish species located in the Dijle, Mark and Zenne river basin of the Scheldt district in Belgium. Cumulative observation data collected in 2000-2015, completed by data gathered from field surveillance in 2021-2022, will provide the baseline to design management objectives and define quantitative targets.

The personnel involved in the project:

Etienne Branquart
  • Author
Dido Gossee
  • Author
Sonia Vanderhoeven

Sampling Methods

No Description available

Method step description:

  1. RATO personnel records daily operations in a dedicated app.
  2. A script periodically retrieves app data via WFS (see https://github.com/riparias/rato-occurrences/blob/main/src/get_data.R).
  3. Data are filtered for confirmed observations/catches of species of interest. This excludes operations where the presence of an animal/plant is uncertain (e.g. extra trap placed, beaver dam observed, etc.).
  4. Data are transformed to Darwin Core (see https://github.com/riparias/rato-occurrences/blob/main/src/dwc_mapping.R) and pushed to GitHub.
  5. The INBO IPT is set to auto-publication and periodically retrieves the Darwin Core data from GitHub.
  6. The dataset is (re)published to GBIF.

Additional Metadata

Alternative Identifiers 69351197-880d-4100-8e69-e80babf3fdd7
https://ipt.inbo.be/resource?r=rato-occurrences