Drivers affecting biological invasions

Content Partner: Lincoln University. The concept of direct and indirect drivers of change in nature has been a cornerstone in all the assessments led by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) to date (Díaz et al., 2015; IPBES, 2016a, 2018f, 2018e, 2018c, 2018d, 2019; Nelson et al., 2006), and the intention in this chapter is not to repeat past material pertaining to the status and trends in the drivers, but to synthesize information on the role of drivers of change in nature in affecting the biological invasion process. Chapter 3 therefore focuses on identifying how different drivers of change in nature affect the transport, introduction and establishment of invasive alien species (Glossary; Box 3.1). Chapter 3 builds on the status and trends of alien species, and the subset of these termed invasive alien species, documented in Chapter 2, with a more in-depth focus on establishing the drivers behind these patterns. The information provided in Chapter 3 contributes to the understanding of the underlying causes of the increase in invasive alien species globally (Chapter 2), the impacts of invasive alien species on nature, nature’s contributions to people and good quality of life (Glossary; Chapter 4) and underpins management actions (Glossary; Chapter 5) and policy options for the prevention and control of invasive alien species and their impacts (Glossary; Chapter 6).