Description
1. Overview of Requirement
1.1 Background
Invasive non-native species (INNS) are one of the top threats to global biodiversity, cost the British economy around £2 billion a year, and can harm human health and interfere with our way of life.
While terrestrial invasive non-native species are a serious issue, aquatic non-native species are particularly invasive and, once established, can be impossible to eradicate and extremely costly to manage. A 2016 report estimated the cost of INNS to the UK water industry as at least £7.5 million per annum, a figure expected to rise as increasing numbers of invasive species arrive in the country. This report provided a series of recommended measures for water companies to reduce the impacts of INNS, covering prevention, management, control and eradication.
Following this report, the water industry has implemented measures to limit future costs, maintain services, and help protect the environment from INNS. Between 2017 and 2025, over £1 million has been invested by a group of water companies to tackle aquatic INNS in England (£450k invested by eight water companies between 2017 and 2020, and £600k by nine water companies between 2020 and 2025). Delivery of this work programme is led by the GB Non-native Species Secretariat (NNSS), overseen by the Aquatic Biosecurity Partnership, a steering group of contributing water companies and key Check, Clean, Dry partners who are supporting the project through their time and the activities of their organisation.
To enable comparisons over time, and support future work in the next phase of the Aquatic Biosecurity Partnership, the partnership now requires:
1. Information on the current costs of INNS to the UK water industry.
2. Recommendations for measures to reduce the impact of INNS in the freshwater environment.
2. Scope of Requirements
2.1 The key objectives of the research are to:
1. Quantify the cost of INNS to UK water companies.
2. Identify and prioritise emerging INNS threats to UK water companies.
3. Assess progress made by water companies in England and Wales with recommendations made in the 2016 report.
4. Assess progress with collaborative working between water companies in this area.
5. Recommend the most effective measures for control of priority species.