Costly impact of invasive 'deadly duo' species

A "DEADLY duo" of invasive species and climate change could cost countries 10 per cent of GDP through damage to activities ranging from agriculture to recreation, it has been claimed.

When combined, the two major threats to the natural world have a costly impact on wildlife and people's livelihoods, a study by the Global Invasive Species Programme suggested.

The report said the estimated damage caused by invasive species, which have a negative impact on native wildlife, landscapes and even - as in the case of Japanese knotweed in the UK - buildings and infrastructure, was $1.4 trillion (890 billion) a year, or about 5 per cent of global GDP.

Estimates of the potential losses from global climate change are also around 5 per cent of global GDP.