In 1997, a consortium of scientific organizations including SCOPE, IUCN and CABI developed the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP) with the explicit objective of providing new tools for understanding and coping with invasive alien species. This book is the final report of GISP's first phase of operation, 1997-2000, in which authorities from more than 30 countries worked to examine invasions as a worldwide environmental hazard. The book brings together the world's leading scientists and researchers involved with invasive alien species to offer a comprehensive summary and synthesis of the current state of knowledge on the subject.