NY State Department of Agriculture is encouraging residents to kill the invasive spotted lanternfly. The annual cost of invasive alien species now exceeds $423 billion annually, according to a new report by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, an organization that is a part of the United Nations. The report claims over 37,000 so-called alien species have been transported due to human activities around the world. Invasive alien species, as defined by the report, are species that are known to "have become established and spread, which cause negative impacts on nature and often also on people." The costs of invasive species have quadrupled every decade since 1970, according to the report.

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Persons: Martin Nuñez Organizations: NY State Department of Agriculture, Services, United Nations Locations: New York City, United States, West, New York, China