Denmark spends staggering sums protecting the bio-diversity of the Danish nature from invasive species like the grey squirrel, rats and the Spanish slug.
A recent report by the Danish Economic Council showed that Denmark coughs up 914 million kroner every year fighting invasive species and the damage that they inflict.
“You have to try to get the most nature out of what you spend,” Hans Peter Ravn, a professor at the Centre for Invasive Species at the University of Copenhagen, told Videnskab.dk. “It’s important to know what it will cost to have specific species in the country and what current invasive species cost.”
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The trouble with invasive species is that they are usually very durable and can easily out-compete the species that arise naturally in the local Danish nature. If nothing is done to combat the invasive species, Denmark’s nature will become less diverse.
The Danish Economic Council wrote a list of the invasive species that cost Danish society the most (see below) and those that they fear will come to Denmark in the future.
According to the list, potential invasive species that could result in hefty bills in the future include the American comb jelly fish, coypu, chestnut-miner moths, common ragweed and the Oxyurinae.
