Key Questions: Distribution and potential impact - Completed Risk Assessments

An inventory and assessment of invasive alien plant species of Nepal

This inventory and assessment is based on experts’ consultation, literature and field studies in collaboration with local partners such as high schools, community forest user groups, community-based NGOs, farmers and other stakeholders.

ConserveOnline - Global Marine Invasive Species Assessment

The database provides information for over 330 marine invasive alien species globally, which can be downloaded as an MS Access file. Each factsheet contains the species' threat scores, geographical and habitat information, invasive pathways and non-native areas of occurrence. The site also offers access to a quick reference guide or a shape file of the Marine Ecoregions of the World (MEOW), which is a biogeographic classification of global coastal ecosystems. The global database contains information on over 330 marine invasive species, including non-native distributions by marine ecoregion, invasion pathways, and ecological impact and other threat scores.

EPPO - Completed risk analyses

The European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation (EPPO) has a priority to prevent the introduction of dangerous pests (bacteria, fungi, insects, plants, viruses…) from other parts of the world, and to limit their spread within the region should they be introduced. In recent years, trade networks have expanded and diversified, increasing the risks of introducing pests to new geographical areas. Measures adopted by countries to protect their territories from these introductions should be technically justified and an International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) on Pest Risk Analysis (ISPM no. 11) has been developed in the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) framework. The page lists analyses that have been done and provides tools for analysis. There are useful databases and links at the foot of the page.

GB Non-native Species Secretariat - Risk Assessment

The Risk Assessment page gives general information, links to helpful resources, and provides Risk Assessments for some species in the UK.

Global Compendium of Weeds

The GCW is part of the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project, and provides links and summaries of over 28,000 plant species which have been assessed by experts and cited as weeds. Their statuses as weeds have been evaluated based on their contexts. Additional information (native range, medicinal uses etc.) on some of the plant species included may be available on their respective assessments..

Hawaiian Pacific Weed Risk Assessment (HPWRA)

This is where users download risk assessments of previously screened plant species. Currently, there are 1443 species assessments available.

National African Boxthorn Strategic Plan

Weeds of National Significance are declared based on their invasiveness, impacts, potential for spread and significant environmental and socioeconomic impacts. African boxthorn ticks all these boxes, and in 2012 was declared a Weed of National Significance. This Strategic Plan provides guidance for the first five years of implementing a nationally coordinated approached to managing African boxthorn.

NatureServe InfoNatura - Animals and Ecosystems of Latin America

This site offers a database of bird, mammal and amphibian species found in Latin America and the Caribbean region. Species records contain information on taxonomy, ecology and conservation status. Distribution maps are also available. Users are also provided with an overview of species data in Latin American and Caribbean countries, as well as a summary of the ecosystem types present in the region. InfoNatura provides conservation status, taxonomic, and distribution information for over 8,600 bird, mammal, and amphibian species in Latin America and the Caribbean as well as classification and distribution information for over 750 ecological systems. InfoNatura represents a snapshot" of dynamic data that are continually being refined in NatureServe's central databases. We update InfoNatura one to two times each year to reflect new data from refined geographic surveys, the latest taxonomic treatments, and any new conservation status assessments.

Regional Euro-Asian Biological Invasions Centre (REABIC) -Risk Assessment Tools

The page lists a number of tools, both in PDF form and links to other websites.  There are also some completed risk assessments.

Risk assessment models for establishment of exotic vertebrates in Australia and New Zealand. Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, Canberra. (Bomford, M. 2008.)

This project was commissioned by the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre to validate and refine risk assessment models used in decisions to import and maintain exotic vertebrate species. It builds on earlier work conducted by the Bureau of Rural Sciences for the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. The findings will guide future decisions on the import of new species, and on restrictions imposed on exotic species already kept in Australia and New Zealand.

The Economic Impact and Appropriate Management of Selected Invasive Alien Species on the African Continent.

This report provides case studies of the economic impact of five invasive alien species in different areas in Africa. The overall aim of this work was to provide detailed information to administrators and managers. The species were: • Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus); • Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes); • The larger grain borer (Prostephanus truncatus); • Parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus); and • Triffid weed (Chromolaena odorata).

[R.M. Wise, B.W. van Wilgen, M.P. Hill, F. Schulthess, D. Tweddle, A. Chabi-Olay, and H.G Zimmermann, 2007. The Economic Impact and Appropriate Management of Selected Invasive Alien Species on the African Continent. Final Report prepared for the: Global Invasive Species Programme. CSIR Report Number CSIR/NRE/RBSD/ER/2007/0044/C]

The Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre (NBIC) Alien Species

A new semi-quantitative method that enables researchers and others to assess the environmental impacts posed by alien species has now been implemented in Norway. While the method is tailored to the Norwegian environment, it can easily be adapted to other countries, and fills an international need for a quantifiable, uniform approach to classifying and assessing alien species. The publication that details the potential impacts of alien species in Norwayis now released in English.

Trinational Risk Assessment Guidelines for Aquatic Alien Invasive Species Test Cases for the Snakeheads (Channidae) and Armored Catfi shes ( Loricariidae) in North American Inland Waters. Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 2009.

This report covers guidelines in risk assessments and socioeconomic impacts and analyses of invasive aquatic species in Canada, Mexico and the United States. There are several case studies of armoured catfish included in the document. Also available in the appendices are: an organism risk assessment form, an inferential estimation of organism risk and pathway risk, and a glossary of relevant terms and definitions.

Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith