2023-09-04 12:05:57
Humans have already moved 37,000 animal and plant species around the world to places where they do not actually occur. At least 3500 species endanger public health and food supply, reports knowledge platform Ipbes. Better control and control helps.
The water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes), from lantana (Lantana camara) and the black rat (Rattus rattus) are the three most widespread invasive alien species in the world. Proliferating and rooting, they displace other life in the water and on land or spread diseases. The rat is controlled in the Netherlands and the water hyacinth may no longer be sold in Europe since 2016, but the lantana from Asia is available in many garden centers under the name of change flower.
The three species top the list of more than 3,500 invasive alien species, in a new report released Monday by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Invasive alien species are animal and plant species that do not occur naturally somewhere and cause damage due to their arrival, often because they have no natural enemies and displace or kill other species.
At least 200 invasive species are added every year
According to the report, at least 37,000 species have already spread around the world to places where they do not originally occur, i.e. are not native. Sometimes this happens through nature, but the ever-faster spread of non-native species is due to humans. At least 200 invasive species are added every year. The threat this poses to public health, food supply, nature and the economy is underestimated and often not even seen, writes Ipbes.
In 2019, Ipbes warned that one million animal and plant species worldwide are at risk of extinction. Ecosystems that provide clean water, pure air and healthy food can also be irreparably damaged. Invasive species are one of five main causes, following intensive land use, overfishing, climate change and pollution.
The new report, approved last weekend by the 143 member states of Ipbes, provides the most comprehensive overview ever of invasive species. Only a small number of the many invasive species are harmful to the new habitat in which they end up. But whether they are is often not immediately clear, the 86 authors of the report note. What is certain is that 6 percent of non-native plants, 22 percent of invertebrates, 14 percent of vertebrates and at least 11 percent of microbes pose major risks to nature and humans.
Noticeable all over the world
People with the greatest direct dependence on nature, such as indigenous peoples and local communities, are most at risk. Their territories are the most vulnerable, as are islands such as those in the Caribbean, Hawaii and Madagascar. The economic impact of invasive species has increased rapidly since 1970 to more than $423 billion in 2019, according to the report.
The authors warn that it is not wise to regard changes in biodiversity as the problem of other countries. While there are wide variations in the local impacts of invasive species, they are felt around the world, the report says. This also warns against the accumulation of effects: climate change and the arrival of invasive exotics can reinforce each other. For example, invasive species such as the Japanese climbing fern can fuel forest fires by filling in gaps, reinforcing drought and burning faster than the trees that make up the actual forest.
Prevention helps
Solutions, according to the report, mainly lie in better precautions and border control. While four in five countries set targets, only 17 percent have laws and regulations to curb invasive species. Nearly half of all countries are doing almost nothing to manage invasive species. Nevertheless, prevention such as import control does work, the authors write. Restoration of ecosystems, allowing native species to compete with newcomers, also works.
As an example, the report points to the PlantwisePlus1 program, which helps smallholder farmers in Africa, Asia and Latin America identify new alien species and remove them using biological control. Eradication is sometimes effective; in Polynesia, for example, we managed to get rid of the black rat and the rabbit. This is less easy with plants, because seeds sometimes remain in the ground for a long time before they hatch.
According to the authors, a major step forward is the agreements made in December 2022 during the UN Biodiversity Summit in Montreal. In all cases, the dissemination of knowledge about species and the consequences they have is of great importance, say the authors.
Read also:
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Animals and plants that come from elsewhere are one of the top five causes of global biodiversity loss. Scientific platform IPBES will release a new report on these invasive exotics on Monday.
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Can the UN summit starting today save biodiversity from extinction? Coenraad Krijger of nature conservation organization IUCN explains what is at stake in Montreal.
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