Scotland tackles non-native invaders
24 June 2010
The Scottish government is bringing in new environmental protection laws to help bring a halt to the march of non-native species across Scotland's unique natural landscape.
The Wildlife and Natural Environment Bill outlaws the release of non-native plants into the wild and introduces species control orders, imposed by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), to ensure owners eradicate or control non-native plants and animals. SNH is also given the power to take unilateral action to remove invasive species, recouping the cost from the owners of affected land.
'As more is known about the potentially devastating effects of non-native plants and animals on our indigenous environment, tougher action is needed to ensure that the exotic garden plants we throw on our compost heaps do not germinate into nuisance species,' said Scotland's Environment Minister, Roseanna Cunningham.
Non-native species are already causing serious problems in Scottish countryside: Rhododendron ponticum has colonised wooded hillsides in the west of the country, while Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) is now growing in almost continuous swathes along stretches of the river Almond in West Lothian. Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera), giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) and water weed such as New Zealand pygmyweed (Crassula helmsii) have also spread throughout the country.