Chair: Emily Smith, Angling Trust
Link: Zoe Davies, Policy and Campaigns Manager
The Link Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) Working Group continues to advocate for INNS legislation to be properly implemented, resourced and enforced, now and after the UK leaves the EU.
The Environmental Audit Committee recently published the final report of its invasive species inquiry which, among other things, calls for a tripling of the invasive species budget and a ‘citizens army’ of 1.3 million volunteers to act as our frontline of defence. Link’s influence on the Committee’s conclusions is self-evident, and we warmly welcomed their recommendations, many of which we have campaigned on for some time. The Committee echoed Link’s calls for the creation of an invasive species inspectorate, as exists for all other areas of animal and plant health, which would bring our biosecurity up to scratch and slow the tide of new species establishing. After the election, we will being pushing Defra and the Treasury to heed these calls and use the Spending Review 2020 to make these changes that are so urgently needed. Link’s Policy and Campaigns Manager Zoe Davies also wrote a blog in response to the Committee’s report.
Link recently responded to Defra’s consultation on management measures for widespread INNS. The key message conveyed by Link was that management must be strategic and coordinated, with a clear objective, to minimise suffering of target species and maximise conservation benefits and value for taxpayers’ money.
Throughout Invasive Species Week earlier this year, Link raised public awareness of invasive species with its interactive StoryMap and a series of blogs focusing on the impact of INNS on different habitats in the UK including freshwater and riparian, urban, marine, woodland and bogs and islands. Take a look at #InvasivesWeek to catch up on all the action.
For further information, contact Zoe Davies, Link’s Policy and Campaigns Manager.
Last updated: 2 December 2019
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