CANBERRA, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Experts have called for a coordinated national response to protect native Australia's biodiversity from invasive species.
A new report published by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) on Monday identified alien species - those that are introduced to new regions through human activities - as the leading driver of biodiversity loss in Australia.
According to the landmark report, the global economic cost of invasive alien species has at least quadrupled every decade since 1970 and surpassed 423 billion U.S. dollars in 2019.
Andy Sheppard, the Chief Research Scientist for Biosecurity at Canberra-based national science agency the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and a coordinating lead author of the report, said in a statement that in Australia alone invasive species cost 25 billion Australian dollars (16.1 billion dollars) every year.
He said red fire ants, European rabbits, feral cats and European carp are Australia's most impactful invasive species and called for coordinated action to address the threat.
"Invasive alien species do not respect borders. To achieve success, Australia needs to work with other governments in our region and across sectors, non-government organizations (NGOs) and with Indigenous Peoples and local communities on coordinated action," Sheppard said.
"It is most cost-effective to invest to reduce the arrival and establishment of invasive alien species. But we can't stop them all, so biosecurity needs effective preparedness and response capability."
Research published by the Invasive Species Council (ISC) in May found that Australia has averaged 4.5 probable species extinctions every decade since the 1960s.
Of those, the research said three a decade could be mainly attributed to the impact of invasive species. ■