World | Other World Stories
Invasive species, heat threaten livelihoods
Climate change will devastate ecosystems, harming agriculture and tourism sectors, global report says
- Reuters
- Published: 00:00 October 23, 2010
Singapore: Climate change is set to drive the spread of invasive plant and animals species, threatening forests, fisheries and crops, in a double blow to nature and livelihoods, a World Bank-funded report said yesterday.
The study by Nairobi-based Global Invasive Species Programme says a warmer world, more extreme weather and higher levels of planet-warming carbon dioxide will give some species an edge, devasting ecosystems at sea and on land.
"The estimated damage from invasive species worldwide totals more than $1.4 trillion [Dh5.1 trillion] annually — 5 per cent of the global economy," says the report issued on the sidelines of a major UN meeting in Japan aimed at combatting the destruction of nature.
The United Nations says climate change, pollution, deforestation and over-hunting have led to a rapid rise in extinctions, threatening the richness of nature that underpins services such as clean air, water as well as food and health.
"Individually, climate change and invasive species present two of the greatest threats to biodiversity and the provision of valuable ecosystem services," says the report for policymakers.
Adept at survival
It outlines myriad examples of invasive plants and animals that have proven much more adept at survival than other local species, leading to erosion, damage to crops, livestock and fisheries and lost income for tourism.
In particular, climate change can lead to some local species becoming much less able to adapt to warmer temperatures or more extreme droughts and floods, making them vulnerable to other species that have much greater tolerance levels.
In some cases, invasive species can also curb the amount of carbon dioxide that nature can soak up from the atmosphere.
In North America, warmer winter temperatures have led to an explosion in the numbers of native mountain pine beetles, killing off large areas of forest.
Weeds, pests and diseases were also a growing threat to agriculture, the study says, undermining food security.
"Indirectly, climate change will impact agriculture by increasing the incidence and intensity of invasive species," says the report. Agriculture supports the livelihoods of more than a third of the world's population.
The study also pointed to the likely spread of diseases such as bird flu, plague, Rift Valley fever, dengue, ebola and malaria. "Climate change combined with global trade and transport networks may significantly increase the threat of such pandemics," the authors say.
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