A new IPBES report is expected to be adopted at the IPBES plenary session currently taking place in Bonn. With a focus on invasive species as one of the driving forces behind the global biodiversity crisis, the report will serve as an important tool for addressing a topic that has been under-examined until now, says Alejandro Ordonez Gloria, an associate professor and co-author of the report.
Invasive alien species have been identified as one of the five main causes of global biodiversity loss in the 2019 IPBES Global Assessment Report. Along with land and marine land-use, direct exploitation, climate change, and pollution, invasive species pose a significant threat to biodiversity, ecosystem services, sustainable development, and general well-being. Invasive species are thus also identified as a threat in the UN’s 2022 Kunming-Montreal Agreement.
See also: Implementation of the COP 15 biodiversity targets is now underway
Invasive species is the term used to describe species of animals, plants, and fungi that, through human activity, have been introduced or have spread to areas where they would not normally be found. At the same time, they have a negative impact on native biodiversity, for example by displacing native species. A non-native or alien species is therefore not necessarily invasive.
Among the invasive species found in the Danish countryside are the Pacific oyster, the wrinkled rose, the Iberian forest snail, the Sitka spruce, the raccoon dog, and the signal crayfish, all of which pose a threat to native biodiversity.
Invasive species have major consequences
In addition to threatening native biodiversity, invasive species also have other consequences for, among other things, public health and the economy, including an increased risk of the spread of vector-borne diseases and an increased risk of allergies. Furthermore, invasive species can harm economic interests related to, for example, the food industry.
The issue is more complex than many people realize, explains Alejandro Ordonez Gloria, an associate professor at Aarhus University and co-author of the upcoming report. Invasive species are associated, among other things, with immediate economic costs, as they can be difficult to control, but the problem can also lead to other serious consequences in the future if we do not take it seriously:
“A recent example is the natural disaster in Hawaii, where several areas on the island of Maui have been ravaged by violent wildfires, with the flames spreading rapidly due to the strong winds from Hurricane Dora. But experts also point to another contributing factor—namely, invasive and highly flammable grass species, which most likely contributed to the rapid spread of the fire,” explains Alejandro Ordonez Gloria.
Experts from around the world behind new report
Although the problem of invasive species is well known, the topic has received insufficient attention. This is one of the reasons why the challenge has not been a major priority for decision-makers around the world. In 2018, IPBES’s nearly 140 member countries therefore decided to launch the comprehensive process of preparing the report *Alien Invasive Species Assessment*, which is now on the verge of publication.
The project involved 86 experts from 49 countries around the world, including Alejandro Ordonez Gloria, who contributed to the report as a co-author:
“As a researcher, it is gratifying to see how research and knowledge can help bring about change—how science can be translated into concrete action. At the same time, our work on this IPBES report has been aligned with the focus areas we’re already addressing at our new research center, the Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), which opened earlier this year. “Here, we are researching, among other things, how new ecosystems resulting from human impact affect global biodiversity,” he explains.
Tools for Positive Change
Prior to the release, delegates from the 140 member countries will meet in Bonn, Germany, from August 28 to September 2 for the 10th IPBES Plenary Session (IPBES 10). There, they will have the opportunity to ask questions about the report with the aim of reaching consensus on its final content, recommendations, and wording prior to the report’s expected approval on September 4, 2023.
Among the key elements of the draft are the researchers’ recommendations for actions to address the challenges posed by invasive species. It is precisely the prospect of supporting this positive change that Alejandro Ordonez Gloria is particularly looking forward to ahead of the plenary session in Bonn:
“The biodiversity crisis is at least as important to address as human-induced climate change. Our entire foundation of prosperity and well-being rests on species diversity and robust ecosystems, as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals also illustrate. We must not take this for granted,” he says, continuing:
“My hope is that, through this report as well, we will make the necessary scientific impact to underscore to global decision-makers the need to address the biodiversity crisis. We already have several research-based options at our disposal to counter some of the drivers of the global biodiversity crisis. Combating and reducing the spread of invasive species is one of them.”
