New study warns of rising invasive alien species threat, urges immediate action

New Delhi, Researchers around the world have called for urgent action against the growing threat of invasive alien species, long recognised as a major threat to biodiversity. With the number of invasive alien species (non-native to an ecosystem) set to rise, a new paper published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, provides the evidence-base and options to inform immediate and ongoing action, according to authors, representing 101 organisations from 47 countries.

"To achieve this there is a need for collaboration, communication and cooperation, not only across borders but within countries," said lead author Helen Roy from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and co-chair of the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Invasive Alien Species (IAS) assessment.

The paper is based on the main findings of the IPBES thematic assessment report on invasive alien species and their control, published in September 2023. The report had found that human activities were responsible for introducing more than 37,000 alien species to regions and ecosystems around the world.

In the latest paper, the authors said that every year, about two hundred new alien species are being introduced globally by human activities in regions around the world.

Further, already established alien species will continue to naturally expand their geographic ranges, spreading into and negatively impacting new countries and regions, they said.

The researchers, including those from Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, also found that an interplay of factors driving biodiversity loss, including climate change, are intensifying biological invasions.

"Climate change is a major driver facilitating the establishment and spread of invasive alien species into previously inhospitable regions. For example, climate warming is enabling aquatic and terrestrial invasive alien species to establish and spread poleward, including into the Arctic and Antarctic regions," the authors wrote.

In some mountainous regions, climate change has enabled invasive alien species to expand their reaches into higher elevations twice as fast as native species, they said.

The authors also called for developing action plans by collaborating with multiple stakeholders including government and private sector.

They said that the Indigenous Peoples and local communities will be critical to achieving success in addressing biological invasions.

"This is not only the most comprehensive global assessment on invasive alien species to date, but also the selection of experts and the evidence gathering was done under the highest standards of inclusivity, resulting in a report which provides critical insights for all stakeholders," said Anibal Pauchard, co-chair of the IPBES IAS assessment and a professor at the University of Concepcion, Chile.