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These Kenyan fishermen are harvesting hyacinths to turn them into biogas.
But, like many other plants, insects, and animal species, these hyacinths are invaders from other ecosystems, and they're causing havoc in the local environment.
Now, scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, or IPBES, are raising concerns about the increasing spread of these alien species.
Scientists have been examining records dating back decades to understand how the global spread of wildlife is disrupting existing ecosystems.
They've discovered that a staggering 3,500 of these invasive species are causing significant harm.
Professor Peter Stoett is the report's co-author and Dean of Ontario Tech University's Social Sciences.
"There's a very, of course, unfortunate case, right now where in Hawaii with the terrible fires that we've seen, this has been linked to the proliferation of some African grasses that have grown there and which are used to a different fire regime, meaning that they they grow, they burn, they grow, they burn very quickly. And this, we think, has contributed along with climate change and extreme weather, to the horrendous fires that we saw.”
These devastating impacts are often felt first by local communities whose livelihoods are threatened.
385 people remain missing and are presumed dead following the wildfires that burned through the seaside tourist town of Lahaina on the island of Maui.
Kaipo Kekona is a Lahaina community leader.
He says there are lessons about climate change that need to be learned.
"There's an old proverb,'Kav'ai ma ua, kav'ai ma hop ' - 'The answers to your future lie in your past.' And if we can bring those practices back in and value those and understand those needs and practices to better the impacts of climate change."
In the continental U-S, loggers are racing against time to harvest ash trees before they fall victim to the destructive emerald ash borer.
Invasive species come in many forms, from insects to mammals, even fungi.
Currently, the United States is grappling with a spread of the death cap mushroom.
“Almost every community has been impacted one way or another with invasive alien species. Many of them are insects and mammals, even fungi. Right now, the United States is dealing, for example, with a spread of the death cap, mushroom, which is appropriately named, because it can be actually deadly if consumed.”
The recent case in Australia in which three people died after consuming poisonous mushrooms that were served to them by a relative is a testament to the danger.
Professor Stoett says that while some invasive species have been present for decades, it's the speed of their invasion that's truly alarming.
"Many local landscapes that we consider natural, in fact, are not in the sense that aliens species have populated them and we've lived with them for years. And in fact, many of us eat species that are alien species every day, right ? It's quite difficult. The problem is the level of invasion that's occurring and the significant impacts that it's having on the economies, on livelihoods and even on culture.”
The invasion isn't limited to land.
Hordes of 'blue crabs' from the western Atlantic have invaded Italy's coast, threatening the country's marine ecosystem and its role as a top clam producer.
Crabs arriving on ships from the Atlantic are devouring or damaging over 50 per cent of Italy's clam, mussel, and oyster production.
But amid the crisis, some see culinary opportunities, with the blue crab transitioning from fishing nets to frying pans.
A study launched in 2019 to examine the impact of invading species, included researchers and local communities in 49 countries.
Since 2019, scientists have observed the spread of insects, marine animals, and other species into new habitats as a top driver of biodiversity loss.
Professor Stoett issues a dire warning about the future.
" This is not a new phenomenon but what's new like climate change and other threats to global biodiversity and the biosphere is the rate at which it's occurring. And this is truly troublesome for us. Our estimates are that if we continue along the lines that we have now, we'll see another 37 per cent or so increase in invasive species by 2050.”
The greatest concern is how this phenomenon is leading to the extinction of entire species and cultures.
Researchers say most of these invasions are unintentional, often driven by international shipping, whether by sea, air or train.
