Although invasive alien species have long been recognized as a major threat to nature and people, until now there has been no comprehensive global review of the status, trends, drivers, impacts, management and governance challenges of biological invasions. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Thematic Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and Their Control (hereafter 'IPBES invasive alien species assessment') drew on more than 13,000 scientific publications and reports in 15 languages as well as Indigenous and local knowledge on all taxa, ecosystems and regions across the globe. Therefore, it provides unequivocal evidence of the major and growing threat of invasive alien species alongside ambitious but realistic approaches to manage biological invasions. The extent of the threat and impacts has been recognized by the 143 member states of IPBES who approved the summary for policymakers of this assessment. Here, the authors of the IPBES assessment outline the main findings of the IPBES invasive alien species assessment and highlight the urgency to act now.

Aarhus University Aarhus Denmark

African Institute for Mathematical Sciences Cape Town South Africa

AgriGenomics Hub Ankara Turkey

ARCTICenter University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls IA USA

Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment Bengaluru India

Belgian Biodiversity Platform Service Public de Wallonie Namur Belgium

BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics Biodiversity and Land Planning Vairão Portugal

Bioprotection Aotearoa Department of Pest Management and Conservation Lincoln University Canterbury New Zealand

Centre for Ecology and Conservation University of Exeter Penryn UK

Centre for Invasion Biology Department of Botany and Zoology Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch South Africa

Centre for Invasion Biology Department of Mathematical Sciences Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch South Africa

Centre for Invasion Biology SAIAB Makhanda South Africa

Charles Darwin University Darwin Northern Territory Australia

CIBIO Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources InBIO Associate Laboratory Vairão Portugal

Climate and Atmosphere Research Centre Care C The Cyprus Institute Athalassa Campus Nicosia Cyprus

Consejo Nacional de investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medio Ambiente Universidad Nacional del Comahue Río Negro Argentina

Coventry University Coventry UK

CSIRO Canberra Australian Capital Territory Australia

Departamento de Biologia Universidade Federal do Piauí Teresina Brazil

Department 15 Life Sciences Institute for Ecology Evolution and Diversity Goethe University Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main Germany

Department of Biological Sciences and Centre for Sustainable Area Management University of Bergen Bergen Norway

Department of Biological Sciences Andong National University Andong Korea

Department of Biology and Biochemistry University of Houston Houston TX USA

Department of Biology Faculty of Science Gazi University Ankara Türkiye

Department of Biology Faculty of Sciences University of Porto Porto Portugal

Department of Biology University of Florence Sesto Fiorentino Florence Italy

Department of Ecology Faculty of Science Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Department of Environmental Science Faculty of Sciences University of Buea Buea Cameroon

Department of Geobotany and Ecological Physiology of the Institute of Botany after A Takhtajan NAS RA Yerevan Armenia

Department of Natural Resources Egerton University Njoro Campus Njoro Kenya

Department of Natural Sciences Ovidius University of Constanta Constanta Romania

Department of Plant Biology and Ecology University of Sevilla Sevilla Spain

Department of Zoology and Entomology Rhodes University Grahamstown South Africa

Department of Zoology and Entomology Rhodes University Makhanda South Africa

Division of BioInvasions Global Change and Macroecology Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research University of Vienna Vienna Austria

DST NRF Research Chair in Inland Fisheries and Freshwater Ecology South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity Makhanda South Africa

Ecologie Systématique Evolution CNRS AgroPariTech Université Paris Saclay Gif sur Yvette France

Enalia Physis Environmental Research Centre Nicosia Cyprus

Environmental Science and Policy George Mason University Fairfax VA USA

Escuela de Ciencias Ambientales Universidad Espíritu Santo Samborondón Ecuador

Estación Biológica de Doñana Sevilla Spain

Evolutionary Genetics Laboratory Ankara University Agricultural Faculty Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ankara Turkey

Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute Tsukuba Japan

Fynbos Node South African Environmental Observation Network Observatory South Africa

German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Leipzig Germany

Hokkaido University Sapporo Japan

INIBIOMA CONICET Universidad Nacional del Comahue Neuquén Argentina

Institute for Agro Environmental Sciences National Agriculture and Food Research Organization Tsukuba Japan

Institute for Global Environmental Strategies Hayama Japan

Institute of Botany after A Takhtajyan NAS RA Yerevan Armenia

Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences Průhonice Czech Republic

Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity Concepción Chile

Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences University of Tartu Tartu Estonia

Institute of Forestry Tribhuvan University Kathmandu Nepal

Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos CONICET Chubut Argentina

Instituto de Biologia Universidade de Campinas São Paulo Brazil

Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Mexico City Mexico

Instituto de Ecología Regional Universidad Nacional de Tucumán CONICET Tucumán Argentina

Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad Quito Ecuador

IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group Rome Italy

IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group; University of Auckland Auckland New Zealand

Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí n L Ústí n L Czech Republic

Justus Liebig University Giessen Giessen Germany

Kerala Forest Research Institute Peechi India

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kumasi Ghana

Laboratorio de Invasiones Biológicas Facultad de Ciencias Forestales Universidad de Concepción Concepción Chile

Laboratory of Vector Ecology and Applied Entomology Joint Services Health Unit Cyprus Akrotiri Cyprus

Locally Managed Marine Area Network International Trust Suva Fiji

Maasai Mara University Narok Kenya

McGill University Montreal Quebec Canada

Meise Botanic Garden Meise Belgium

Ministry for Primary Industries Wellington New Zealand

National Institute for Environmental Studies Tsukuba Japan

National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch South Africa

National Institute of Aquatic Resources Technical University of Denmark Lyngby Denmark

Oceanografía y Ecología Marina Universidad de la República Montevideo Uruguay

Oceanographic Research Institute Durban South Africa

Ontario Tech University Oshawa Ontario Canada

Pärnu College University of Tartu Pärnu Estonia

Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ USA

School of Biological Sciences The University of Adelaide Adelaide South Australia Australia

School of Life Sciences University of Kwa Zulu Natal Pietermaritzburg South Africa

Scientific and Practical Center for Bioresources of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Minsk Belarus

Scientific Services South African National Parks Skukuza South Africa

Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future La Trobe University Melbourne Victoria Australia

Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Frankfurt Germany

Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Department of Marine Zoology Frankfurt am Main Germany

South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity Makhanda South Africa

South African National Biodiversity Institute Kirstenbosch Research Centre Cape Town South Africa

Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute Arusha Tanzania

The Horus Institute for Environmental Conservation and Development Florianópolis Brazil

The School of Life Sciences and Bio Engineering The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology Tengeru Arusha Tanzania

The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History and Israel National Center for Biodiversity Studies Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv Israel

Tribhuvan University Kathmandu Nepal

Trinity University San Antonio TX USA

UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Wallingford UK

Universidade Federal de Lavras Lavras Brazil

University of Colombo Colombo Sri Lanka

University of Fribourg Fribourg Switzerland

University of Kent Tonbridge UK

University of Rhode Island Kingston RI USA

University of Technology Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia

University of Tennessee Knoxville TN USA

University of Zambia Lusaka Zambia

Voice of Nature Buea Cameroon

Wageningen University Wageningen The Netherlands

Wildlife Institute of India Dehradun India

Wildlife Service Institute for Environmental Protection and Research Rome Italy

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