CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS to beat non-native pests
MEMBERS of the public could be called on to form a voluntary ‘citizens’ army’, charged with spotting invasive plants such as giant hogweed, pests including oak processionary moth and plant diseases such as xylella and ash dieback. Proposed by MPs in a new environmental report, the idea seeks to recruit 1.3 million volunteers to help identify and respond to a blacklist of problematic invaders, which are often introduced to the UK on imported ornamental plants. “Invasive, non-native species (INNS) are one of the top threats to the UK’s natural environment,” says Mary Creagh MP, Chair of the Environmental Audit Commitee. “[Yet] government funding to tackle invasive species is tiny and fails to match the scale of the threat.”
Ash dieback, caused by non-native fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, is predicted to kill half our ash trees within the next century, and outbreaks of oak processionary moth continue, despite tight import restictions on oaks since 2019. Asian hornets and tiger mosquitoes are perceived to be new risks on the horizon.
Efforts to control the spread of INNS costs an estimated £1.8billion a year, but funding stands at just £900,000 and new regulations are considered to be “too little, too late”. The report calls for an extra £3million to be spent on biosecurity, a dedicated border force, the banning of high-risk imports and a rapid response emergency fund to deal with outbreaks.