Recent reports at the Scottish and global levels reveal the scale of the threat to nature and the economy from invasive species, a threat that is only growing as our climate changes.

An invasive non-native species (INNS) is defined as a species intentionally or unintentionally introduced outside its native range by human actions. These species tend to be opportunists, exploiting any chance to spread, and cause damage to the environment, the economy, our health or the way we live.

The multi-national Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services’ Invasive Alien Species Assessment was published in February and brings together more than 13,000 scientific studies and indigenous and traditional knowledge. It concludes that INNS are spreading around the world at unprecedented and increasing rates, predicting that their number will increase by more than a third by 2050. Humans have introduced more than 37,000 non-native species around the world and at least 3,500 create problems for nature.