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FAO launches the first-ever global report, The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture, on the state of biodiversity that underpins our food systems. The first-ever report of its kind presents mounting and worrying evidence that the biodiversity that underpins our food systems is disappearing – putting the future of our food, livelihoods, health and environment under severe threat. Less biodiversity means that plants and animals are more vulnerable to pests and diseases. Compounded by our reliance on fewer and fewer species to feed ourselves, the increasing loss of biodiversity for food and agriculture puts food security and nutrition at risk.

The financial cost of non-native species has been published in a new report. "The Economic Cost of Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) to the British Economy" suggests that invasive species cost 1.7 billion pounds every year. The research was conducted by the international scientific organization CABI for the Scottish Government, Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government and breaks down the effect on each country. It indicates that the economic cost of INNS can be wide ranging and can result in the loss of crops, ecosystems and livelihoods. The cost to the agriculture and horticulture sector alone is estimated to be 1 billion pounds across Britain.
See also: Publications - Non-native species impacts for related information.

Citizens with an avid interest in environmental matters will be able to 'sea' their environmental reports using mobile technology. The first of its kind in Trinidad and Tobago, the Institute of Marine Affairs' new Integrated Environmental Incident Software Platform and mobile application, called the Lionfish SeaiTT, allows users to report environmental incidents with the touch of a button. The development of this mobile application was part of a 2014 Green Fund project entitled 'Control and Management of the Invasive Lionfish in Trinidad and Tobago' which aimed to raise awareness on the arrival of the marine invasive species, the lionfish, Pterios volitans, to the territorial waters around Trinidad and Tobago, and the imminent threat the species pose to domestic marine ecosystems.

The purpose of this report is to raise awareness among key stakeholders, decision-makers, policymakers and the general public about the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of IAS. Twenty-eight dedicated species accounts are provided to highlight the various types of impacts. These species accounts are based on thorough, up-to-date scientific information from recent research and studies, and highlight the multifaceted impacts of IAS at both the global and regional levels.

With around 5,000 summertime residents, increased tourism, and a warming planet, it is becoming difficult to protect Antarctica from invasion.

The environmental tolerances and potential range of the tomato pest Tuta absoluta in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Central Asia and Australia may have been underestimated according to new research co-authored by CABI scientists. All results from the scientists' research suggests with the greatest certainty that T. absoluta (also known as Phthorimaea absoluta or tomato leafminer) has further to spread globally, particularly in southern and East Asia, Australia and Central America.

The first section of the book includes information about how tourism-related infrastructure and activities promote biological invasions, including key pathways for non-native invasive species introductions. This section provides case studies of different organisms that are known to be introduced and/or promoted by tourism in different ecosystems or regions. The second section elaborates on known and potential impacts of invasive species on tourism and recreation, including how they may affect, positively or negatively, the economic revenue from tourism, tourist access, recreation, aesthetic values and tourists’ perceptions. The last section focuses on management and policy, covering aspects of how visitors perceive invasive species and their willingness to manage them, biosecurity measures to prevent invasion related to tourism, as well as potential policy options moving forward. The book draws on a number of examples across multiple taxa, landscapes and regions of the world.

Citation: Barros, A., Shackleton, R., Rew, L. J., Pizarro, C., Pauchard, A. (Eds.). (2022). Tourism, Recreation and Biological Invasions. CABI.

Invasive alien species (IAS) have become a major driver of biodiversity loss, second only to habitat fragmentation in recent decade. Europe is particularly affected by alien species, which are invading the continent an unprecedented pace. Their impact means that many of the region's rarest endemic species are on the brink of extinction and that our well-being and economies are affected. Establishing an early warning and rapid response framework for Europe become a key target. The present publication is the EEA contribution to achieving this goal.

Kew's UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) team recently returned from a successful launch of the Tropical Important Plant Areas project in the British Virgin Islands. Tropical Important Plant Areas (TIPAs) are target sites for plant and habitat conservation, identified by the presence of threatened species, threatened habitats and/or high botanical richness. Although TIPAs are not legal designations, they can inform the protection and management of sites for biodiversity conservation.