Reacción a "The economic cost of some invasive species may be 1600% higher than previously estimated"

The press release accurately reflects the authors' main approach and findings, providing a good summary.

Ismael Soto and his collaborators have conducted a very rigorous and comprehensive study to calculate the cost that invasive alien species impose on the global economy, both in terms of the damage they cause and the investments made to combat them. The study builds on findings revealed in 2021 by a group of scientists specializing in biological invasions, InvaCost, which created a global database of documented cost figures from 1960 to 2022. This time, the researchers use robust mathematical models to estimate the current and potential distribution of invasive species and their associated costs, allowing them to extrapolate results to more than 80 countries where figures had not yet been published.

The study's main finding is staggering, indicating that previous cost estimates were significantly underestimated and could be about 1,600 times higher than those calculated by InvaCost—rising from a global figure of around $126 billion to approximately $2.2 trillion. Most of the costs are associated with damage caused by invasive plants, followed by arthropods and mammals.

This study is particularly effective because economic assessments are proving to be much more impactful in raising public awareness about the serious environmental and public health issues posed by invasive alien species—especially in Europe, which accounts for 71% of global costs.