Original title: Limited global awareness of invasive alien species and little support for their management
Ana Novoa, Ross Shackleton, Sven Bacher, Pavel Pipek +21 · October 2026
Invasive alien speciesNon-native organisms introduced to a region that multiply and cause ecological or social harm. are organisms brought into new environments where they harm native wildlife and communities. Managing these species requires government and community action, but public pushback can stop those programs completely. Researchers ran a worldwide survey to see what people know about these species. They found that most people have very little awareness of biological invasionsThe process by which non-native organisms establish themselves and disrupt local ecosystems. and oppose most control methods. However, people who knew more about invasive species were much more likely to back management actions.
You notice a strange weed choking the flowers in a shared community garden. If you pull it out with heavy garden shears, your neighbors might complain that you are destroying plants and making a mess. Without realizing that the weed kills everything around it, nobody lets you fix the problem. Here, people oppose controlling harmful foreign species simply because they do not realize the damage those organisms cause.
Invasive plants and animals cause severe ecological damage across the planet, but efforts to stop them cannot work without local support. When the public does not understand these invasions, communities resist control efforts, letting harmful species spread further.
The abstract does not specify the survey sample size, the exact countries included, or which specific management measures people rejected. It also does not quantify the degree to which awareness alters public support.
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Limited global awareness of invasive alien species and little support for their management — Ana Novoa, Ross Shackleton, Sven Bacher et al. — iScience — doi:10.1016/j.isci.2026.117811
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.