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Ecological restoration is a global priority. Incorporating stakeholders' perceptions has been established as a critical factor to improve the success of restoration and conservation initiatives and decrease future social conflicts; however, it has barely been incorporated. Our objective was to analyze and compare the differences in the perceptions of Chilean dryland forest restoration of three groups: local community, experts, and government managers. We asked about: (1) what is the knowledge, importance, and uses that they have and give to the native forest and its restoration? (2) What is the willingness to restore the native forest? (3) What are the most valuable goods and services provided by the forest? (4) Where to begin to restore? (5) What criteria must be considered to prioritize areas to restore? To determine if the criteria selected were related to the stakeholder group, a semi-parametric multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 61 stakeholders. The community gave greater importance to restoring the ravines and creeks, the experts to restoring areas that increase landscape connectivity, and both experts and government managers to restoring areas of greater biodiversity and ecological value. The experts gave a lower value to both social and economic criteria compared to the local community and government managers. The differences among stakeholder perceptions must necessarily be considered in the restoration programs. Research on perceptions can contribute to decision-making and will favor the social approval and long-term success of restoration programs. ; Comision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica (CONICYT) 21120237 projects FONDEF from CONICYT (Chile) CA13I10276 Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity-Chile (IEB) ICM 05-002 PBF-23 AFB 170008

© 2018 The Authors. Journal of Applied Ecology © 2018 British Ecological SocietyThe global trade of species promotes diverse human activities but also facilitates the introduction of potentially invasive species into new environments. As species ignore national boundaries, unilateral national decisions concerning species trade set the stage for transnational species invasion with significant conservation, economic and political consequences. The need for a coordinated approach to species importation policies is demonstrated by the introduction of two bumblebee species into Chile for crop pollination, despite Argentina banning commercial importation of alien bumblebees based on expert opinion. The large garden bumblebee, Bombus ruderatus, was first introduced in 1982, and the buff-tailed bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, has been continually introduced since 1997 as part of the burgeoning bumblebee trade. Both species have subsequently invaded southern South America. Today, the consequences