The tomato moth (Tuta absoluta) is native to South America and causes extensive crop damage. It is one of the most economically damaging invasive species globally. Photo: Patrick Clement (Wikimedia Commons).

The global economic cost of invasive species may be more than 1,600% higher for certain species than previously thought, with estimations around US $35 billion annually over the past 60 years. These are the conclusions of an international study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution with the particiption of the Doñana Biological Station – CSIC. The results, based on data from 162 invasive species, highlight the potential damage incurred and could help to plan cost-effective management. 

 “Invasive species are one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss in the world. They also cost thousand of dollars to global economies, for example, in damage to agriculture, health, food security and water”, explains Elena Angulo, a researcher at the Doñana Biological Station and one of the authors of the study.

A more accurate global estimate

Biological invasions pose a global threat to biodiversity, ecosystem services and economies, and have contributed to 60% of recorded global extinctions. Previous estimates of the monetary costs of invasive species have been based on only a few documented costs from a limited range of countries — mostly those in Europe and North America. This has led to underreporting, especially in regions with less coverage, such as Africa and Asia.

To provide a more accurate representation of costs on a global scale, Ismael Soto, Brian Leung and colleagues combined the estimated costs (including damage to agriculture and management costs) at national levels for 162 invasive species with models of where these species are distributed around the world. These included species such as the Asian tiger mosquito, tree of heaven and the American bullfrog.

The authors then modelled the costs for these species in other countries, including 78 countries for which no cost data were previously available — including Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Cyprus and Egypt. Total global costs were estimated to have been around US $35 billion annually over the past 60 years — a similar figure to the global costs of extreme weather attributable to climate change.

“The data we’re starting from are robust, and we’ve also taken into account and calculated the area of suitable habitat occupied by each of these species in each country, as well as the socio-economic characteristics of each country,” Angulo explains. “The latter is important, as each country has a different capacity to deal with invasive species, and the damage they experience will depend on their own social characteristics and the activity of their economic sectors.”

The highest total costs over this time period were in Europe (estimated at $1,584 billion) followed by North America ($226 billion) and Asia ($182 billion). Invasive plants — such as the butterfly bush, the water hyacinth and water primrose — were found to be the group resulting in the highest total estimated cost over the past 60 years ($926.38 billion). For example, the environmental impacts of the black wattle plant have cost South Africa an estimated $2 billion. Arthropods ($830.29 billion) and mammals ($263.35 billion) had the next highest total estimated costs.

At a global scale, among the species causing the greatest economic damage are the common water hyacinth  (Pontederia crassipes), the American mink (Mustela vison), the tomato pinworm (Tuta absoluta), el domestic cat (Felis catus) or the western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis). 

Urgent preventive measures

“The study shows that economic cost is multiplied when we make these estimations”, says Angulo. “In my opinion, the exact figures are not so relevant but the very high range of economic losses, which could be avoided by investing more in effective tools for prevention, early detection and eradication.”

The findings improve our understanding of the financial costs of invasive species at national levels and highlight the urgent need for regionally specific management strategies and policies to mitigate the effects of invasive species worldwide.

The study has been led by Ismael Soto from the University of South Bohemia in Czech Republic and Brian Leung from McGill University in Canada and involves 21 research centres and universities from 12 countries in Europe, NorthAmerica, SouthAmerica, Africa and Oceania.

Reference

Ismael Soto, Pierre Courtois, Arman Pili, Enrico Tordoni, Eléna Manfrini, Elena Angulo, Céline Bellard, Elizabeta Briski, Miloš Buřič, Ross N. Cuthbert, Antonín Kouba, Melina Kourantidou, Rafael L. Macêdo, Boris Leroy, Phillip J. Haubrock, Franck Courchamp & Brian Leung. Using species ranges and macroeconomic data to fill the gap in costs of biological invasions. Nature Ecology and Evolution. Nature Ecology & https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02697-5