Invasive alien species are recognized as one of the five 
major direct drivers of change in nature globally, alongside 
land- and sea-use change, direct exploitation of organisms, 
climate change, and pollution.5
 This assessment considers 
how biological invasions are facilitated by all those direct 
anthropogenic drivers, noting that interactions among 
invasive alien species can enable further biological 
invasions. The assessment also considers how biological 
invasions can be influenced by indirect drivers, as identified 
in the IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity 
and Ecosystem Services: these include demographic, 
economic, sociocultural and technological drivers, as well 
as those relating to institutions and governance. Finally, 
the assessment considers how biological invasions, and 
ultimately the impacts of invasive alien species, can be 
facilitated by natural drivers of change, in particular natural 
hazards (such as floods, storms and wildfires) and by 
biodiversity loss itself.
THE THEMATIC ASSESSMENT REPORT ON INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES AND THEIR CONTRO
The thematic assessment report on
INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES
AND THEIR CONTROL
DEFINITIONS, CONCEPTS
AND THE CONTEXT OF 
THE ASSESSMENT