More than 37 000 alien species have been introduced worldwide as a result of human activity.
Non-native species – displaced either by global trade and travel or by climate change – pose “a severe global threat” to local biodiversity, food security as well as public health, a new report has found.
European shore crabs have damaged commercial shellfish beds in New England and Canada while Caribbean false mussels have displaced clams and oysters in the Indian Ocean, the report said, citing instances where food supply chains were disrupted. Mosquito species, migrating further north as the planet warms, have spread malaria, Zika and West Nile Fever to previously unaffected areas, underscoring the public health risk.
Policymakers also need to double down on the “vital” Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which aims to curb the invasion of aggressive alien species by at least 50% by 2030. Among the alien species, around 6% of plants, 22% of invertebrates, 14% of vertebrates, and 11% of microbes were known to be invasive, it added, pointing out that indigenous communities, and those dependent on nature for livelihoods, were most at risk. ADVERTISEMENT CONTINUE READING BELOW The most damaging effect was recorded on islands.
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