Vision EnrichInvasive species, particularly plants like Lantana camara, are causing significant ecological and economic damage across India. Globally, invasive plants incur the highest economic costs—and India faces the largest underreporting gap, with a staggering 1.16 billion % discrepancy in documented management spending.
Key Challenges
- Underreporting: Most expenditures by state agencies, NGOs, and local communities remain unrecorded.
- Fragmented Governance: No centralized database; poor coordination between forest, agriculture, trade, and port authorities.
- Knowledge Gaps: Regional and grey literature are excluded from global databases (e.g., InvaCost), skewing assessments.
- Ecological & Economic Impact: Invasives increase fire risks, degrade wildlife habitats, reduce grazing land, and hurt eco-tourism—especially in protected areas like Bandipur.
Drivers & Limitations
Global trade and travel accelerate spread. Eradication is often unfeasible due to integration of non-native species into agriculture. While international frameworks like the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Ballast Water Management Convention (IMO, 2017) help, India lacks robust monitoring and funding.
Way Forward
✅ Establish a national invasive species database
✅ Strengthen inter-agency coordination
✅ Invest in prevention, early detection, and science-based control
✅ Recognize invasive species as economic threats, not just biodiversity concerns
Conclusion
To mitigate long-term losses, India must integrate ecological and economic strategies, improve data transparency, and scale up proactive management.
