Making the Fens sustainable and resilient!
Menu


Invasive non-native species (INNS)

There are many non-native species in Great Britain, but only a small proportion are invasive. This minority can have serious negative impacts on our native British species, our health or our economy. These species are grouped together and called invasive non-native species.

Further information can be found on the NNSS website

The Non-native Species Secretariat (NNSS)

The Non-native Species Secretariat has responsibility for helping to coordinate the approach to invasive non-native species in Great Britain. They are responsible to a Programme Board which represents the relevant governments and agencies of England, Scotland and Wales.

The NNSS website helps those interested in finding out more about invasive non-native species and to facilitate those working on this subject in Great Britain. The site can be used to:

  • Keep up-to-date with news and events happening across GB
  • Find out about the problems caused by invasive non-native species
  • Find out what is happening in GB to help tackle these problems
  • Look up information about specific species, including where they are in GB
  • Learn how to identify the main problem species
  • Access their invasive non-native species risk assessments
  • Find out about invasive species projects taking place around GB

New strategy for non-native species

Defra have launched the updated Great Britain invasive non-native species strategy, which sets out key aims and actions for addressing the threats posed by invasive non-native species. It aims to:

  • get people to work better together, including the government, stakeholders, land managers and the general public
  • improve co-ordination and co-operation on issues at a European and international level

The nature strategy for Greater Lincolnshire contains an action plan for invasive non-native species. Sighting can be reported to the Lincolnshire Environmental Records Centre by submitting a few simple details to info@glnp.org.uk

Further INNS Information Sources

RINSE web site, http://www.rinse-europe.eu/


Information that can be found on the Environment Agency website:

Eradication programme carried out to remove floating pennywort from Exminster Marshes. PDF file

EA leaflet ‘Managing Invasive Non-native Plants’ - Managing aquatic and riparian plants


Greater Lincolnshire Nature Partnership (GLNP)  Invasive Species identification guide


The PlantTracker Project - collaboration between the Environment Agency, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the NatureLocator team and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

The Plant Tracker locates incidences of high priority invasive plant species and obtain accurate data.

The PlantTracker project combines the development of a smartphone application with the power of crowd-sourcing data collection. Records are geo-located using the phone’s GPS capabilities and the app has built-in photographic ID guides

What happens to the records? Data is passed to the Biological Records Centre's iRecord system; where it is stored, collated and checked by experts and made available to support research and decision-making at local and national levels. Verified data is passed onto the NBN Gateway where it is accessible at full resolution to anyone who needs it.

Contact Dave Kilbey (Nature Locator manager).

Also available: Aqua Invaders http://www.brc.ac.uk/aquainvaders/home

(Reference: Plant Tracker Project website)