scholarly journals The economic costs of biological invasions in Central and South America: a first regional assessment

NeoBiota ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 401-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo Heringer ◽  
Elena Angulo ◽  
Liliana Ballesteros-Mejia ◽  
César Capinha ◽  
Franck Courchamp ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Biological Invasions ◽  
Alien Species ◽  
Eichhornia Crassipes ◽  
Invasive Alien Species ◽  
Terrestrial Environment ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Damage Costs ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Region Ii

Invasive alien species are responsible for a high economic impact on many sectors worldwide. Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of studies assessing these impacts in Central and South America. Investigating costs of invasions is important to motivate and guide policy responses by increasing stakeholders’ awareness and identifying action priorities. Here, we used the InvaCost database to investigate (i) the geographical pattern of biological invasion costs across the region; (ii) the monetary expenditure across taxa and impacted sectors; and (iii) the taxa responsible for more than 50% of the costs (hyper-costly taxa) per impacted sector and type of costs. The total of reliable and observed costs reported for biological invasions in Central and South America was USD 102.5 billion between 1975 and 2020, but about 90% of the total costs were reported for only three countries (Brazil, Argentina and Colombia). Costs per species were associated with geographical regions (i.e., South America, Central America and Islands) and with the area of the countries in km2. Most of the expenses were associated with damage costs (97.8%), whereas multiple sectors (77.4%), agriculture (15%) and public and social welfare (4.2%) were the most impacted sectors. Aedes spp. was the hyper-costly taxon for the terrestrial environment (costs of USD 25 billion) and water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) was the hyper-costly taxon for the aquatic environment (USD 179.9 million). Six taxa were classified as hyper-costly for at least one impacted sector and two taxa for at least one type of cost. In conclusion, invasive alien species caused billions of dollars of economic burden in Central and South America, mainly in large countries of South America. Costs caused by invasive alien species were unevenly distributed across countries, impacted sectors, types of costs and taxa (hyper-costly taxa). These results suggest that impacted sectors should drive efforts to manage the species that are draining financial sources.

scholarly journals Modelling the damage costs of invasive alien species

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danish A. Ahmed ◽  
Emma J. Hudgins ◽  
Ross N. Cuthbert ◽  
Phillip J. Haubrock ◽  
David Renault ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
Invasive Alien Species ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Economic Cost ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Logistic Growth ◽  
Qualitative Properties ◽  
Dynamical Approach ◽  
Damage Costs

Abstract The rate of biological invasions is growing unprecedentedly, threatening ecological and socioeconomic systems worldwide. Quantitative understandings of invasion temporal trajectories are essential to discern current and future economic impacts of invaders, and then to inform future management strategies. Here, we examine the temporal trends of cumulative invasion costs by developing and testing a novel mathematical model with a population dynamical approach based on logistic growth. This model characterises temporal cost developments into four curve types (I - IV), each with distinct mathematical and qualitative properties, allowing for the parameterization of maximum cumulative costs, carrying capacities and growth rates. We test our model using damage cost data for eight genera (Rattus, Aedes, Canis, Oryctolagus, Sturnus, Ceratitis, Sus and Lymantria) extracted from the InvaCost database – which is the most up-to-date and comprehensive global compilation of economic cost estimates associated with invasive alien species. We find fundamental differences in the temporal dynamics of damage costs among genera, indicating they depend on invasion duration, species ecology and impacted sectors of economic activity. The fitted cost curves indicate a lack of broadscale support for saturation between invader density and impact, including for Canis, Oryctolagus and Lymantria, whereby costs continue to increase with no sign of saturation. For other taxa, predicted saturations may arise from data availability issues resulting from an underreporting of costs in many invaded regions. Overall, this population dynamical approach can produce cost trajectories for additional existing and emerging species, and can estimate the ecological parameters governing the linkage between population dynamics and cost dynamics.

scholarly journals Existing indicators do not adequately monitor progress towards meeting invasive alien species targets

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joana Raquel Silva Vicente ◽  
Ana Sofia Vaz ◽  
Mariona Roige ◽  
Marten Winter ◽  
David Clarke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Invasions ◽  
Alien Species ◽  
Gap Analysis ◽  
Invasive Alien Species ◽  
Theory Of Change ◽  
Insufficient Data ◽  
State Response ◽  
The Status ◽  
Global Biodiversity ◽  
Pressure State

Monitoring the progress parties have made toward meeting global biodiversity targets requires appropriate indicators. The recognition of Invasive alien species (IAS) as a biodiversity threat has led to the development of specific targets aiming at reducing their prevalence and impact. However, indicators for adequately monitoring and reporting on the status of biological invasions have been slow to emerge, with those that exist being arguably insufficient. We performed a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature to assess the adequacy of existing IAS indicators against a range of policy-relevant and scientifically valid properties. We found that very few indicators have most of the desirable properties, and that existing indicators are unevenly spread across the components of the Driver-Pressure-State-Response and Theory of Change frameworks. We provide three possible reasons for this: i) inadequate attention paid to the requirements of an effective IAS indicator, (ii) insufficient data required to populate and inform policy-relevant, scientifically robust indicators, or (iii) deficient investment in the development and maintenance of IAS indicators. This review includes a gap analysis of where current inadequacies in IAS indicators exist, and provides a roadmap for the future development of indicators capable of measuring progress made toward mitigating and halting biological invasions.

scholarly journals The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)’s Post-2020 target on invasive alien species – what should it include and how should it be monitored?

NeoBiota ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 62 ◽  
pp. 99-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franz Essl ◽  
Guillaume Latombe ◽  
Bernd Lenzner ◽  
Shyama Pagad ◽  
Hanno Seebens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Invasions ◽  
Alien Species ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Invasive Alien Species ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Biodiversity Policy ◽  
Global Biodiversity ◽  
Main Components

The year 2020 and the next few years are critical for the development of the global biodiversity policy agenda until the mid-21st century, with countries agreeing to a Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Reducing the substantial and still rising impacts of invasive alien species (IAS) on biodiversity will be essential if we are to meet the 2050 Vision where biodiversity is valued, conserved, and restored. A tentative target has been developed by the IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG), and formally submitted to the CBD for consideration in the discussion on the Post-2020 targets. Here, we present properties of this proposal that we regard as essential for an effective Post-2020 Framework. The target should explicitly consider the three main components of biological invasions, i.e. (i) pathways, (ii) species, and (iii) sites; the target should also be (iv) quantitative, (v) supplemented by a set of indicators that can be applied to track progress, and (vi) evaluated at medium- (2030) and long-term (2050) time horizons. We also present a proposed set of indicators to track progress. These properties and indicators are based on the increasing scientific understanding of biological invasions and effectiveness of responses. Achieving an ambitious action-oriented target so that the 2050 Vision can be achieved will require substantial effort and resources, and the cooperation of a wide range of stakeholders.

scholarly journals Invasive species and the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation: how close has Brazil come to achieving Target 10?

Rodriguésia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 1567-1576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele de Sá Dechoum ◽  
Alexandre Bonesso Sampaio ◽  
Sílvia Renate Ziller ◽  
Rafael Dudeque Zenni
Keyword(s):  
Biological Invasions ◽  
Alien Species ◽  
Invasive Alien Species ◽  
Plant Conservation ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
Focal Points ◽  
Effective Management ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Effective Development ◽  
Environmental Agencies

Abstract Target 10 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation establishes that "Effective management plans are in place to prevent new biological invasions and to manage important areas for plant diversity that are invaded" by 2020. The rationale for the target is that invasive alien species are a major threat to native plants, and thus should be excluded from areas reserved for the conservation of plant species, especially when endemic and/or threatened. In Brazil, although most management plans report the presence of invasive alien species and the need for management in federal protected areas, there are only a very limited number of management plans implemented. The national strategy on invasive alien species, published as CONABIO Resolution 05/2009, has not been implemented, so progress on policies and legislation focused on invasive alien species at the federal level has been slow. In order to reach an effective development of public policies in Brazil, federal environmental agencies must function as focal points and be in charge of coordinating actions aimed at (1) identifying priority areas for preventing and managing biological invasions, and (2) managing invasive alien species and reduce their impacts.

scholarly journals Policy-relevant indicators for invasive alien species assessment and reporting

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melodie A. McGeoch ◽  
Eduardo Arlé ◽  
Jonathan Belmaker ◽  
Yehezkel Buba ◽  
David A. Clarke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Biological Invasions ◽  
Alien Species ◽  
Invasive Alien Species ◽  
Species Invasions ◽  
Status And Trends ◽  
The Status ◽  
Impact Risk ◽  
Status Information ◽  
Key Dimensions

AbstractInvasive alien species are repeatedly shown to be amongst the top threats to biodiversity globally. Robust indicators for measuring the status and trends of biological invasions are lacking, but essential for monitoring biological invasions and the effectiveness of interventions. Here, we formulate and demonstrate three such indicators that capture the key dimensions of species invasions, each a significant and necessary advance to inform invasive alien species policy targets: 1) Rate of Invasive Alien Species Spread, which provides modelled rates of ongoing introductions of species based on invasion discovery and reporting. 2) Impact Risk, that estimates invasive alien species impacts on the environment in space and time and provides a basis for nationally targeted prioritization of where best to invest in management efforts. 3) Status Information on invasive alien species, that tracks improvement in the essential dimensions of information needed to guide relevant policy and data collection and in support of assessing invasive alien species spread and impact. We show how proximal, model-informed status and trend indicators on invasive alien species can provide more effective global (and national) reporting on biological invasions, and how countries can contribute to supporting these indicators.

scholarly journals The economic costs of biological invasions in Brazil: a first assessment

NeoBiota ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 349-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Ricardo Pires Adelino ◽  
Gustavo Heringer ◽  
Christophe Diagne ◽  
Franck Courchamp ◽  
Lucas Del Bianco Faria ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Invasions ◽  
Alien Species ◽  
Invasive Alien Species ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Economic Cost ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Economic Costs ◽  
Economic Sectors

Biological invasions are one of the leading causes of global environmental change and their impacts can affect biodiversity, ecosystem services, human health and the economy. Yet, the understanding on the impacts of invasive alien species is still limited and mostly related to alien species outbreaks and losses in agricultural yield, followed by the understanding of the ecological impacts on natural systems. Notably, the economic impacts of biological invasions have rarely been quantified. Brazil has at least 1214 known alien species from which 460 are recognized as invasive alien species. Still, there are no comprehensive estimates of the cost of their impact and management. Here, we aimed at filling this gap by providing a comprehensive estimate of the economic cost of biological invasions in Brazil. In order to quantify these costs for species, ecosystems and human well-being we used the InvaCost database which is the first global compilation of the economic costs of biological invasions. We found that Brazil reportedly spent a minimum of USD 105.53 billions over 35 years (1984–2019), with an average spent of USD 3.02 (± 9.8) billions per year. Furthermore, USD 104.33 billion were due to damages and losses caused by invaders, whereas only USD 1.19 billion were invested in their management (prevention, control or eradication). We also found that recorded costs were unevenly distributed across ecosystems, and socio-economic sectors, and were rarely evaluated and published. We found that the economic costs with losses and damages were substantially greater than those used for prevention, control or eradication of IAS. Since our data show costs reported in Brazil for only 16 invasive alien species, our estimates are likely a conservative minimum of the actual economic costs of biological invasions in Brazil. Taken together, they indicate that invasive alien species are an important cause of economic losses and that Brazil has mostly opted for paying for the damage incurred by biological invasions rather than investing in preventing them from happening.

scholarly journals Biological invasions in France: Alarming costs and even more alarming knowledge gaps

NeoBiota ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 191-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Renault ◽  
Eléna Manfrini ◽  
Boris Leroy ◽  
Christophe Diagne ◽  
Liliana Ballesteros-Mejia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
Invasive Alien Species ◽  
Ambrosia Artemisiifolia ◽  
Knowledge Gaps ◽  
Damage Costs ◽  
Asian Tiger ◽  
History Of ◽  
French Overseas Territories ◽  
Overseas Territories ◽  
Evolutionary Consequences

The ever-increasing number of introduced species profoundly threatens global biodiversity. While the ecological and evolutionary consequences of invasive alien species are receiving increasing attention, their economic impacts have largely remained understudied, especially in France. Here, we aimed at providing a general overview of the monetary losses (damages caused by) and expenditures (management of) associated with invasive alien species in France. This country has a long history of alien species presence, partly due to its long-standing global trade activities, highly developed tourism, and presence of overseas territories in different regions of the globe, resulting in a conservative minimum of 2,750 introduced and invasive alien species. By synthesizing for the first time the monetary losses and expenditures incurred by invasive alien species in Metropolitan France and French overseas territories, we obtained 1,583 cost records for 98 invasive alien species. We found that they caused a conservative total amount ranging between US$ 1,280 million and 11,535 million in costs over the period 1993–2018. We extrapolated costs for species invading France, for which costs were reported in other countries but not in France, which yielded an additional cost ranging from US$ 151 to 3,030 millions. Damage costs were nearly eight times higher than management expenditure. Insects, and in particular the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus and the yellow fever mosquito Ae. aegypti, totalled very high economic costs, followed by non-graminoid terrestrial flowering and aquatic plants (Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Ludwigia sp. and Lagarosiphon major). Over 90% of alien species currently recorded in France had no costs reported in the literature, resulting in high biases in taxonomic, regional and activity sector coverages. To conclude, we report alarming costs and even more alarming knowledge gaps. Our results should raise awareness of the importance of biosecurity and biosurveillance in France, and beyond, as well as the crucial need for better reporting and documentation of cost data.

scholarly journals Trends in the Biodiversity and Invasive Species Dynamics: Local Implications on Forest, Grassland and Ruderal Vegetation in Bratislava City, Slovakia, Central Europe

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
Alena Rendekova ◽  
Zuzana Randakova ◽  
Jan Miskovic ◽  
Karol Micieta
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Biological Invasions ◽  
Alien Species ◽  
Invasive Alien Species ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Wiener Index ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Ruderal Vegetation ◽  
Fallopia Japonica ◽  
Environmental Threats

Biological invasions represent one of the most serious global environmental threats. One of their negative aspects is a biodiversity loss in the natural ecosystems. Our study reports the results of the evaluation of changes in the proportion of invasive alien species and the results of the evaluation of the changes of the diversity in various types of forest, grassland and ruderal vegetation of Bratislava city over the time. In total, 26 invasive alien taxa were recorded in the vegetation of Bratislava. The majority of invasive taxa were recorded in both time periods. Five invasive species (Echinocystis lobata, Fallopia japonica, Helianthus tuberosus, Juncus tenuis, and Solidago canadensis) were recorded only in the more recent period. Most of the invasive species prefer ruderal habitats, and some of them also invade the forest vegetation (mainly the floodplain forests). In the dry grasslands of the class Festuco-Brometea, no invasive species were recorded in both periods. The statistical analysis revealed the increase of the average percentual number of invasive alien species in the majority of classes of the forest and ruderal vegetation of Bratislava over the time. In the majority of classes, where the proportion of invasive species increased, the Shannon–Wiener index of diversity of all species decreased significantly over the time. Our results contribute to the knowledge about biological invasions in cities.

scholarly journals Scientific literature on invasive alien species in a megadiverse country: advances and challenges in Mexico

NeoBiota ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 113-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge E. Ramírez-Albores ◽  
Ernesto I. Badano ◽  
Joel Flores ◽  
José Luis Flores-Flores ◽  
Laura Yáñez-Espinosa
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Biological Invasions ◽  
Alien Species ◽  
Invasive Alien Species ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Socioeconomic Impacts ◽  
Future Studies

Interest in invasive species has increased around the world over the last several decades. In Mexico, studies on invasive species date as early as 1939 and the number of publications has increased considerably in recent decades. However, to our knowledge, the analysis of information gaps and research priorities is lacking. Therefore, it is necessary to identify gaps in the knowledge of invasive species in order to define future research priorities and focus conservation efforts. We assessed the current state of knowledge of biological invasions in Mexico based on the existing literature. Our aim was to identify in which areas information is absent or insufficient and which areas should be prioritised. We identified a total of 869 references. The number of references increased over time and the topics were strongly biased towards two areas: 1) natural history and geographical distribution patterns and 2) effects on native biota and ecosystems. The remaining topics were only moderately or poorly studied. Most studies focused on vascular plants (n = 280) and fishes (n = 174). Notably, a large portion of the references (n = 215) focused on only eight invasive alien species, including their ecological and socioeconomic impacts. Only 95 references examined the effects of alien species on biodiversity; these studies were mainly carried out on islands (n = 41) or in terrestrial or freshwater ecosystems in protected natural areas (n = 165). The findings of the present review can guide future studies in filling in the existing research gaps on biological invasions. Additionally, future studies should aim to define national priorities of the impacts of biological invasions and to promote the prevention and control of alien species by considering the distinct vectors and pathways of introduction and movement.

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