The economic costs, management and regulation of biological invasions in the Nordic countries
Journal article, 2022
A collective understanding of economic impacts and in particular of monetary costs of biological invasions is lacking for the Nordic region. This paper synthesizes findings from the literature on costs of invasions in the Nordic countries together with expert elicitation. The analysis of cost data has been made possible through the InvaCost database, a globally open repository of monetary costs that allows for the use of temporal, spatial, and taxonomic descriptors facilitating a better understanding of how costs are distributed. The total reported costs of invasive species across the Nordic countries were estimated at $8.35 billion (in 2017 US$ values) with damage costs significantly outweighing management costs. Norway incurred the highest costs ($3.23 billion), followed by Denmark ($2.20 billion), Sweden ($1.45 billion), Finland ($1.11 billion) and Iceland ($25.45 million). Costs from invasions in the Nordics appear to be largely underestimated. We conclude by highlighting such knowledge gaps, including gaps in policies and regulation stemming from expert judgment as well as avenues for an improved understanding of invasion costs and needs for future research.
Nordic countries
Knowledge gaps
Economic impact
InvaCost
Invasive species
Author
Melina Kourantidou
Hellenic Centre for Marine Research
University of Southern Denmark
Laura N.H. Verbrugge
University of Helsinki
Aalto University
Phillip J. Haubrock
Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum
Jihoceska Univerzita v Ceskuch Budejovicich
Ross N. Cuthbert
Queen's University Belfast
Elena Angulo
Laboratoire Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution
CSIC- Estación Biológica de Doñana EBD
Inkeri Ahonen
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
Michelle Cleary
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)
Jannike Falk-Andersson
Norwegian Institute for Water Research
Lena Granhag
Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2), Maritime Studies
Sindri Gíslason
Southwest Iceland Nature Research Centre (SINRC)
Brooks Kaiser
University of Southern Denmark
Anna Kaisa Kosenius
Finnish Environment Institute
Henrik Lange
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
Maiju Lehtiniemi
Finnish Environment Institute
Kristin Magnussen
Menon Economics
Ståle Navrud
Norwegian University of Life Sciences
Petri Nummi
University of Helsinki
Francisco J. Oficialdegui
University of Murcia
Satu Ramula
University of Turku
Terhi Ryttäri
Finnish Environment Institute
Menja von Schmalensee
West Iceland Nature Research Centre
Robert A. Stefansson
West Iceland Nature Research Centre
Christophe Diagne
Laboratoire Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution
Franck Courchamp
Laboratoire Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution
Journal of Environmental Management
0301-4797 (ISSN) 1095-8630 (eISSN)
Vol. 324 116374Subject Categories
Health Care Service and Management, Health Policy and Services and Health Economy
Economic Geography
Economics
DOI
10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116374
PubMed
36352726