The neglected importance of managing biological invasions for sustainable development

• DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10712
• Publication Date: 2024-08-27T07:24:41Z
• Authors: Bernd Lenzner; Adrián García‐Rod...; Gilles Colling; Stefan Dullinger; Julia Fugger; Michael Glaser; Jennifer H. Henne...; Ekin Kaplan; Daijun Liu; Ali Omer; Aníbal Pauchard; Helen E. Roy; Tobias Schernhammer; Anna Schertler; Peter Stoett; Lisa Tedeschi; Tom Vorstenbosch; Johannes Wessely; Franz Essl
• Keywords: temporal lag effects; 0106 biological sciences; sustainable development; Ecology; 106003 Biodiversity research; biological invasions; 01 natural sciences; 106003 Biodiversitätsforschung; GF1-900; Human ecology. Anthropogeography; impacts; QH540-549.5; policy

Abstract

Biological invasions have substantial and rising social‐ecological impacts threatening human livelihoods and communities and hampering progress towards a just and equitable world. Currently, biological invasions are not adequately recognised and included in the UN Agenda 2030. Using a literature review conducted in Web of Science, we highlight the bias in available literature of biological invasions related to the UN Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals. We find abundant scientific literature towards environmental and biodiversity related sustainability targets while other especially provisioning targets are less well represented. Subsequently, we discuss the risks of neglecting biological invasions within sustainable development and how invasive alien species can have changing and adverse effects through time counteracting the intended benefits at the time of introduction. Finally, we provide key recommendations for action at the international scale to ensure that biological invasions are adequately considered in sustainable development. Those recommendations include (1) acknowledgement of biological invasions as a key threat to sustainable development, (2) a call for stronger multilateral exchange under the umbrella of an adequately financed coordinating body and (3) appropriate implementation and resource provisioning for international monitoring, data infrastructure, data exchange and use of adequate indicators of biological invasions to streamline decision making based on a solid evidence base.

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