Invasive alien species ‘travelling around the world at unprecedented rates’

Animals, plants and other organisms that have been introduced to other ecosystems by humans intentionally or otherwise are classified as alien species, though not all become invasive

Invasive alien species are threatening native plants and animals with extinction.

Invasive alien species are travelling around the world at “unprecedented rates” because of humans, threatening native plants and animals with extinction while damaging human health and livelihoods, scientists have warned.

Their cost to the world economy is estimated to be at least $423bn (€392bn) a year, having quadrupled every decade since 1970, though this has been described by the authors as “a huge underestimate” and “the tip of an iceberg”.