NATURE: invasive non-native species (INNS) cost the Scottish economy around £500 million every year

Key figures from the public sector, private sector and civil society have banded together to begin the search for additional resources needed to urgently tackle invasive non-native species (INNS), one of the biggest threats to Scotland’s wildlife.

It has been estimated that the annual cost of INNS to the Scottish economy is currently around £500 million, due to their impact on agriculture, forestry, transport, construction, utilities and other sectors. The problem is rapidly intensifying and is likely to get significantly worse as new species arrive, climate change accelerates and conditions for the establishment and spread of species become increasingly favourable.

INNS are plants, animals and other organisms that have been introduced from outside their natural range and have a detrimental impact on native biodiversity, ecosystem services, the economy and wellbeing. Notable examples include grey squirrels, which have caused massive declines in the population of native red squirrels across the UK; rhododendron ponticum, a plant which can turn species-rich woodlands into lifeless thickets where almost nothing else can grow; and Japanese knotweed, which takes over gardens and can cost homeowners thousands of pounds to remove.

The Scottish Invasive Non-Native Species Finance Summit, which was held at Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority Headquarters on Monday, was jointly hosted by the National Park Authority, NatureScot, the Scottish Forum on Natural Capital and the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

From left to right: Stan Whittaker (Non-Native Species Advisor, NatureScot); Colin Galbraith (Chair, NatureScot); Heather Reid (Convenor, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority and Board Member, NatureScot); Chris Stark (Head of Mission Control, Clean Power 2030); Jo Pike (Chief Executive, Scottish Wildlife Trust; Simon Jones (Director of Environment and Visitor Services, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority. Image © Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority

The summit welcomed land managers, including farmers and forestry workers, funders, policymakers, infrastructure owners and experts from across different sectors to identify opportunities around three key priorities:

• Raising awareness of the scale of the INNS problem and recognising that urgently tackling it is crucial to achieving Scotland’s environmental and economic goals.
• Identifying ways to achieve a step-change in the resources needed to tackle INNS, in support of the Scottish Government’s upcoming INNS Action Plan.
• Marking a shift to longer-term, larger-scale action on INNS eradication, prevention, surveillance and control.

The keynote speaker was Chris Stark CBE, Head of Mission Control at the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, who spoke about mission-driven innovation. Drawing upon a combination of experience from both his current role and his past role as Chief Executive of the UK’s Climate Change Committee, Mr Stark reflected on the ingredients necessary for mission-driven innovation to succeed and how this could help tackle the INNS challenge.

In a video message to the summit, The Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy, Gillian Martin MSP, stressed that INNS are not only a barrier to nature restoration, but are an increasing burden on Scotland’s economy. She also highlighted the importance of the upcoming Scottish INNS Action Plan, which aims to work with partners across society to control and prevent the spread of these species, as part of the wider Scottish Biodiversity Strategy. Other speakers included Dr Gary Gillespie, the Scottish Government’s Chief Economic Adviser and Dame Susan Rice, Chair of the Global Ethical Finance Initiative.

Further discussions outlined the huge savings that would be made by acting on INNS now, as opposed to delaying and allowing the problem to escalate. There were also presentations which highlighted several INNS programmes of strategic national importance: Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels’ grey squirrel control work; the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative’s control of invasive plants and mink in river catchments; NatureScot’s Scottish Seabird Conservation Plan; and ongoing work by Palladium as part of a partnership led by Argyll and the Isles Coast and Countryside Trust on the potential of using private capital to restore Scotland’s temperate rainforests.

American mink are an INNS that have had an adverse impact on native species including water voles and ground nesting birds. Image © Tom Hibbert

Jo Pike, Chief Executive of the Scottish Wildlife Trust, said: “The devastating impact of invasive non-native species on our wildlife cannot be understated – but this is also a huge cost to Scotland’s economy and it’s a problem which is getting worse. As a cross-sector problem, this requires cross-sector solutions – and hearing from such a wide range of delegates at the summit showed that solutions can be found if we work together.

“A key message from many in attendance was urgency – if we don’t find adequate funding now, it will end up costing us far more in the long run. It’s vital that we start thinking larger scale and longer term to meet the challenge of Scotland’s biodiversity crisis. With the Natural Environment Bill being debated in Parliament right now and the legally binding targets it will deliver, we have a golden opportunity to translate urgency into political delivery.”

Simon Jones, Director of Environment & Visitor Services, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority, said: “Public awareness of the scale of the challenge posed by INNS, and the real impact they have on people’s everyday lives, remains limited. These species, alongside the increasing pressures of climate change, weaken our ecosystems and make them less resilient – impacts that affect us all, even when we don’t immediately see them.

“We’ve made progress tackling INNS in the National Park and beyond, but the scale of the challenge means we can only achieve real meaningful success at scale by working together. This week’s summit demonstrates that collaborative commitment. What’s needed now is a greater scale of action, backed by long-term, reliable funding and a shared mission to improve our natural environment for people and nature alike.”

Stan Whitaker, NatureScot’s Wildlife Management Manager, said: “Everyone can do their bit to stop the spread of invasive non-native species. If you use boats or equipment in water, make sure they’re clean and free of INNS. Don’t let garden or aquarium plants enter the wild and never release pets into the environment. You can also help by reporting sightings or volunteering with local action groups. Working together, we can keep invasive non-native species at bay.”

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