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Biological invasions are a major threat to ecosystems, biodiversity, and human well-being, resulting in ecosystem degradation and causing economic costs in the multi-trillions of euros globally. A study led by McGill University sheds light on the stark economic cost resulting from biological invasions in the European Union (EU). Most invasive alien species are not adequately assessed for their actual and potential economic impacts therefore most cost estimates are grossly underestimated, say the researchers. To fill this gap, the team quantified the economic costs of biological invasions to the European Union, while estimating future invasion costs using predictive models.

The yield losses attributed to Asian citrus greening disease once established can be devastating. If the disease continues to spread unabated in the citrus growing regions of East Africa, the annual value of lost production could potentially reach up to US $127 million over the next ten to 15 years, according to a recent paper published by CABI. The paper, The Asian Citrus Greening Disease (Huanglongbing): Evidence Note on Invasiveness and Potential Economic Impacts for East Africa (Jun 2021) [PDF, 2.9 MB], provides a review of the global literature on Asian citrus disease or huanglongbing (HLB) and estimates its potential economic impact on East Africa. The paper also makes recommendations for biosecurity preparedness, surveillance and management options to help decision-makers and citrus growers.

Restoring islands through the removal of non-native invasive mammals is a powerful biodiversity conservation tool. This new study now shows that human communities on islands could benefit from restoration actions, which can potentially reduce or eliminate the burden of diseases transmitted to people by invasive species. Simply put, removal of invasive species can benefit human health in addition to ecological health.

The global increase in biological invasions is placing growing pressure on the management of ecological and economic systems. However, the effectiveness of current management expenditure is difficult to assess due to a lack of standardised measurement across spatial, taxonomic and temporal scales.

Research Highlights:

• Since 1960, management for biological invasions totalled at least $95.3 billion.
• Damage costs from invasions were substantially higher ($1130.6 billion).
• Pre-invasion management spending is 25-times lower than post-invasion.
• Management and damage costs are increasing rapidly over time.
• Proactive management substantially reduces future costs at the trillion-$ scale.

See in particular Chapter 3: Freshwater, Wetlands, Biodiversity and Human Health, section 5.1 "Aquatic Invasive Alien Species" and Chapter 7: Infectious Diseases, section 2.3.4 "Implications of Biotic Exchange (Invasive Alien Species)".

Invasive species can have severe impacts on ecosystems, economies, and human health. Though the economic impacts of invasions provide important foundations for management and policy, up-to-date syntheses of these impacts are lacking. To produce the most comprehensive estimate of invasive species costs within North America (including the Greater Antilles) to date, we synthesized economic impact data from the recently published InvaCost database (see related research article: InvaCost, a public database of the economic costs of biological invasions worldwide (Sep 8, 2020).
See also: This article is part of NeoBiota 67: The economic costs of biological invasions around the world.

To date no studies have been undertaken on the costs and benefits of IAS management in the Caribbean. This may partly explain why there has been negligible funding to combat the onslaught of these exotic species in the region. As a result it was decided to provide individuals involved in the UNEP-GEF Project, "Mitigating the Threats of Invasive Alien Species in the Insular Caribbean" with training and an opportunity to undertake Cost-Benefit Analyses (CBAs) on some selected IAS. The CBAs undertaken and reported in this publication clearly demonstrates that the benefits of managing IAS outweigh the costs.

See also: Impacts of Invasive Species on Municipal Assets

The Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT) is the IUCN global standard for measuring the severity of environmental impacts caused by animals, fungi and plants living outside their natural range. This tool alerts scientists, conservation practitioners and policy makers to the potential consequences of alien species, guides the development of prevention and mitigation measures, and assists in the prioritisation of management actions.

You cannot protect the environment without also safeguarding plant health. When plant pests and diseases spread into new areas they seriously damage entire ecosystems, putting at risk biological diversity and the environment itself. Tiny and lethal at the same time, plant pests and invasive alien species have been recently identified as the main driver of biodiversity loss. Pests are also responsible for losses of up to USD 220 billion in agricultural trade each year and the loss of 40 percent of the global food crop production. Climate change is making the situation even worse. It is changing the life cycle of pests – sometimes increasing the number of yearly generations - and creating new niches where they can thrive. For more information see the IPPC factsheet "Plant Health and Environmental Protection [PDF, 1.22 MB]".

Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolate) is a highly destructive invader in North America. As well as hindering the survival of native plants, it poses a particular threat to the survival of the rare West Virginia white butterfly (Pieris virginiensis).

Grass carp, one of four species of Asian carp, has the potential to disrupt the Great Lakes ecosystem and economy unless their spread is stopped, according to a report released by Fisheries and Oceans Canada with support from the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. The socio-economic study concludes that, in addition to the significant ecological threat that is posed by the presence of grass carp in the Great Lakes, there would also be economic, social and cultural ripple effects.
See also: Full report for the Socio-Economic Risk Assessment of the Presence of Grass Carp in the Great Lakes Basin [PDF, 1.34 MB].

Scientists from the CNRS, the IRD, and the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle have just released the most comprehensive estimate to date of the financial toll of invasive species: nearly $1.3 trillion over four decades. Published in Nature (31 March 2021), their findings are based on the InvaCost database, which is financed by the BNP Paribas Foundation and the Paris-Saclay University Foundation’s AXA Chair of Invasion Biology. The annual expenses generated by biological invasions are only increasing, with no sign of any slowing.

Nile perch were introduced to Lake Victoria in the 1950s to boost the fishing industry. The introduction of Nile perch caused an economic boom, but almost caused cichlids, a native fish, to go extinct. Discover the role an invasive species can play in an ecosystem and social system.

InvaCost is the most up-to-date, comprehensive, standardized and robust data compilation and description of economic cost estimates associated with invasive species worldwide. InvaCost has been constructed to provide a contemporary and freely available repository of monetary impacts that can be relevant for both research and evidence-based policy making.

CABI scientists have conducted the first comprehensive study on the economic impact of a range of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) on Africa's agricultural sector, which they estimated to be USD $3.6 trillion a year. This is equivalent to 1.5 times the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of all African countries combined – or similar to that of Germany. The average annual cost of IAS per country was USD $76.32 billion. Full details of the cost for individual countries are outlined in the paper published in the journal CABI Agriculture and Bioscience.