The grave global danger posed by invasive alien species is not acknowledged and undervalued. It is also often not acknowledged.
It is the Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their control (known in the “Invasive Alien Species Report“) finds that more than 37,000 different species of animals have been introduced through a variety of human activities to areas and biomes across the globe. The report also shows that, in addition to drastic changes in ecosystems and biodiversity, global economic burden of invasive species surpassed $423 billion in 2019 the costs have at least quadrupled each decade since 1970.
Invasive species are among the five primary factors that cause loss of biodiversity globally, in addition to changing sea and land use direct exploitation of species as well as climate change and pollution. Target 6 of the newly approved The Kunming and Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets to “eliminate, minimize, reduce and or mitigate the impacts of invasive alien species on biodiversity and ecosystem services”. It is IPBES Invasive Alien Species Assessment is a response to the need to aid decision makers in understanding the present status and trends of the invasive alien species that impact their environment, its drivers and management and the options to effectively address the issues they bring. The Report was approved on the weekend on 17 September in Bonn, Germany, by representatives from the 143 member states of IPBES.
The Invasive Alien Species Assessment:
Evaluates the range of alien species that are invasive and impact ecosystem services and biodiversity.
Assesses the severity of the threat posed by these species to different categories of ecosystem services and biodiversity and ecosystem services, including impacts on the human health, food and the security of livelihoods
Determines the most important pathways and drivers behind the spread and introduction of species from and within nations
It highlights the global state of changes and effects of invasive species and the associated management strategies in subregions and regions in consideration of various information and value systems.
Examines the effectiveness of current global, subnational and international controls and the policies that can be utilized to eliminate and manage the spread of invasive species and focuses on the options for responding
