Why in NEWS?

A new study in Nature Ecology & Evolution warns that India may be severely underreporting the cost of managing invasive alien species, with a discrepancy of 1.16 billion percent between estimated and reported management expenses.

Concept Corner

• Invasive Alien Species (IAS): Non-native organisms (plants, animals, microbes) that spread aggressively, threaten native biodiversity, and cause economic losses.
• Examples of IAS in India:
  • Lantana camara – spreads fast in forests, blocks regeneration of native trees, and is fire-prone.
  • Prosopis juliflora (Vilayati Babool) – introduced for fuelwood, now dominates drylands, displaces grasslands.
  • Parthenium hysterophorus (Congress grass) – a toxic weed affecting crops, human health, and livestock.
  • Eichhornia crassipes (Water hyacinth) – clogs rivers/lakes, hampers fisheries, and increases mosquito breeding.
  • Papaya Mealybug – pest that devastated papaya crops in southern India.
  • Tilapia (fish) – introduced for aquaculture, but outcompetes native fish species.
• InvaCost Database: Tracks global economic costs of invasive species since 1960.
• International Control Measures:
  • Ballast Water Management Convention – prevents aquatic invasions via shipping.
  • Convention on Biological Diversity – obliges countries (including India) to prevent and control IAS.

Core Highlights

1. Global damage from invasive species (1960–2022) = $2.2 trillion.
2. Plants are the costliest invaders ($926 B), followed by arthropods ($830 B) and mammals ($263 B).
3. India has the highest reporting gap in management costs (1.16 billion%).
4. Poor documentation, weak coordination, and underfunded conservation make India highly vulnerable.
5. Invasions spread mainly through trade, travel, and globalization.

Recent Developments

• Europe faces the highest economic burden ($1.5 trillion).
• Globalization and climate change are accelerating the spread of IAS.
• International agreements are in place, but India lacks centralized reporting and strategic funding.

Practice Question

Which among the following invasive alien species is correctly matched with its impact in India? (a) Prosopis juliflora – Degrades grasslands in arid and semi-arid zones
(b) Papaya Mealybug – Affects groundwater recharge in dry regions
(c) Water Hyacinth – Increases crop productivity in wetlands
(d) Tilapia – Enhances native fish diversity