The international team of researchers found that non-native plants and animals that have spread to new areas caused damage for more than $ 2.2 trillion in 1960-2022. The previous estimates exceed 17 times. This is written in a study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, AFP reported on Monday, TASR writes.
Increasingly faster spread of invasive species – from mosquitoes to wild boar to difficult to remove plants – harms agriculture, contributes to the spread of diseases and speeds up the pace of extinction of the original species, recalled AFP.
New damage estimates
She added that the previous calculations of incomplete data were already known at the time of their origin that they were significantly underestimated.
In order to get a more accurate picture, the international team has gathered 162 invasive species, whose costs were well documented in at least a few countries. Subsequently, they modeled the economic impact for another 78 countries, such as. Bangladesh or Costa Rica, for which data were not previously available.
Scientists in the study state that invasive species are “the most affected urban coastal regions, especially in Europe, Eastern China and the US.”
“Plants are a group with the greatest economic damage, whether in terms of direct damage or costs of their control,” said Ismael Soto from the University of South Bohemia as one of the project leaders.
Mosquitoes and wild boar threatens health
However, there are also serious damage: wild boars, for example, destroy crops, corn fields and vineyards, mosquitoes that spread through global warming, directly threaten public health by spreading diseases such as dengue or malaria.
The intergovernmental platform for biodiversity and ecosystem services (IPBES) said that damages and costs of solving problems with invasive animals are more than $ 400 billion a year worldwide.
