Risk assessment is used to assess the risk of a non-native species entering, establishing, spreading and causing impacts in GB. These pages provide information on GB risk assessment scheme developed and used in GB. Completed risk assessments are also posted here.
Jump to a list of risk assessments
About risk assessment
Risk assessment is a key tool in the armoury against invasive non-native species. It can be used to aid prioritisation, to help enable effective rapid responses and for underpinning decision-making. The Non-native Risk Assessment (NNRA) scheme was established in December 2006 (Baker et al 2008 (external link), Mumford et al 2010 (PDF)). Within this scheme risk assessments on non-native species are carried out by independent experts, which are then reviewed by one peer reviewer and GB's independent panel of risk analysis experts (known as the NNRAP). Following this process risk assessments are available for comment before being finalised.
Common misconceptions about risk assessments:
To address a number of common misconceptions about non-native species risk assessments, the following points should be noted:
- Risk assessments consider only the risks posed by a species. They do not consider the practicalities, impacts or other issues relating to the management of the species. They therefore cannot on their own be used to determine what, if any, management response should be undertaken.
- Risk assessments are advisory and therefore are part of the suite of information on which policy decisions are based.
- Completed risk assessments are not final and absolute. They are an assessment based on the evidence available at that time. Substantive new scientific evidence may prompt a re-evaluation of the risks and/or a change of policy.
Information for those undertaking risk assessments:
- NNRA detailed risk assessment template (Word)
- NNRA rapid risk assessment template (Word)
- The risk assessments below also help to provide useful examples on how to complete the assessment process.
- Risk assessments completed as part of other schemes (e.g. EPPO short notes on pests and diseases (external link)) may help inform the assessment.
- A technical report (PDF) was produced in 2005 when the scheme was first designed which includes some useful information on its use.
Period for comment
The risk assessments that have completed the process are available from these pages. They are open for stakeholders to provide comment on the scientific evidence which underpins them for three months from the date of posting on this website (to send in your comments contact us).
If you require an accessible version of a risk assessment please contact us with the following:
- the risk assessment required
- your name and email address
- the format you need, for example, audio CD, braille, BSL or large print, accessible PDF
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 15 working days.
If you would like to be informed when new risk assessments are put online, contact us and ask to be put onto the risk assessment alert e-list.
Risk assessments
Click each column heading to reorder A-Z
Common name | Scientific name | Document type | Type | Status | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
A marine copepod | Acartia tonsa | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
A nemertean worm | Cephalothrix simula | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
African clawed toad | Xenopus laevis | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Alpine newt | Icthyosaura alpestris | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
American bullfrog | Rana catesbeiana | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
American lobster | Homarus americanus | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
American skunk cabbage | Lysichiton americanus | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Andean watermilfoil | Myriophyllum quitense | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Argentine ant | Linepithema humile | Rapid risk assessment | Complete | Open | |
Asian clam | Corbicula fluminea | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Asian date mussel | Arcuatula senhousia | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Asian hornet | Vespa velutina | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Asian shore crab | Hemigrapsus sanguineus | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Atlantic oyster drill | Urosalpinx cinerea | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Australian blackwood | Acacia melanoxylon | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Australian swamp stonecrop | Crassula helmsii | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Bar-headed goose | Anser indicus | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Black bullhead | Ameiurus melas | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Black swan | Cygnus atratus | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Black tailed prairie dog | Cynomys ludovicianus | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Blackcrowned night heron | Nycticorax nycticorax | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Brazilian giant rhubarb | Gunnera manicata | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Bumblebee | Bombus terrestris sp | Risk Assessment | Complete (updated 2013) | Open | |
Bumblebee | Bombus terrestris sp | Risk Assessment | Original draft | Open | |
Butterfly bush | Buddleja davidii | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Canada goose | Branta canadensis | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Canadian pondweed | Elodea canadensis | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Cape pondweed | Aponogeton distachyos | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Carolina fanwort | Cabomba caroliniana | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Carpet sea-squirt | Didemnum vexillum | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Chinese mitten-crab | Eriocheir sinensis | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Chinese mystery snail | Cipangopaludina chinensis | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Chinese Water Deer | Hydropotes inermis | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Cider gum | Eucalyptus gunnii | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Coati | Nasua nasua | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Common wall lizard | Podarcis muralis | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Cork ant | Crematogaster scutellaris | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Creeping water primrose | Ludwigia peploides | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Curly waterweed | Lagarosiphon major | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Demon shrimp | Dikerogammarus haemobaphes | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Doctor fish | Garra rufa | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Dungeness crab | Metacarcinus magister | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Eagle owl | Bubo bubo | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Eagle owl | Bubo bubo | Risk Assessment | Original draft | Open | |
Edible dormouse | Glis glis | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Egyptian goose | Alopochen aegyptiacus | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
False acacia | Robinia pseudoacacia | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Floating pennywort | Hydrocotyle ranunculoides | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Garden dormouse | Eliomys quercinus | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Giant cane | Arundo donax | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Giant knotweed | Fallopia sachalinensis | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Giant resin bee | Megachile sculpturalis | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Giant rhubarb | Gunnera tinctoria | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Giant salvinia | Salvinia molesta | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Golden club | Orontium aquaticum | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Gulf wedge clam | Rangia cuneata | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Himalayan knotweed | Persicaria wallichii | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Indian house-crow | Corvus splendens | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Invasive garden ant | Lasius neglectus | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Italian crested newt | Triturus carnifex | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Japanese knotweed | Fallopia japonica | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Japanese skeleton shrimp | Caprella mutica | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Killer shrimp | Dikerogammarus villosus | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Large flowered waterweed | Egeria densa | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Manilla clam | Ruditapes philippinarum | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Marbled crayfish | Procambarus sp | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Marbled newt | Triturus marmoratus | Rapid risk assessment | Complete | Open | |
Marsh frog | Pelophylax ridibundus | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Monarch butterfly | Danaus plexippus | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Monk parakeet | Myiopsitta monachus | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Monkey flower | Mimulus guttatus | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Muntiacus reevsii | Muntjac deer | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
New guinea flatworm | Platydemus manokwari | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
New Zealand mudsnail | Potamopyrgus antipodarum | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Noble crayfish | Astacus astacus | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Northern river amphipod | Crangonyx pseudogracilis | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Nuttall’s waterweed | Elodea nuttallii | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Orange balsam | Impatiens capensis | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Pacific oyster | Crassostrea gigas | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Pacific oyster | Crassostrea gigas | Risk Assessment | Original draft | Open | |
Pampas grass | Cortaderia selloana | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Paper wasp | Polistes nimpha | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Parrots feather | Myriophyllum aquaticum | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Pink salmon | Oncorhynchus gorbuscha | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Pirri-pirri burr | Acaena novae-zealandia | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Ponto-caspian goby | Babka gymnotrachelus | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Ponto-caspian goby | Proterorhinus marmoratus | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Ponto-caspian goby | Neogobius melanostomus | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Pumpkinseed | Lepomis gibbosus | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Purple pitcher plant | Sarracenia purpurea | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Quagga mussel | Dreissena rostriformis bugensis | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Raccoon | Procyon lotor | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Raccoon dog | Nyctereutes procyonoides | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Ragweed | Ambrosia artimisiifolia | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Rapa whelk | Rapana venosa | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Red king crab | Paralithodes camtschaticus | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Red-eared terrapin | Trachemys scripta elegans | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Red-swamp crayfish | Procambarus clarkii | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Rhododendron | Rhododendron ponticum | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Ring-necked parakeet | Psittacula krameri | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Ruddy duck | Oxyura jamaicensis | EU Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Ruddy shelduck | Tadorna ferruginea | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Rusty crayfish | Orconectes rusticus | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Sacred ibis | Threskiornis aethiopicus | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Sea walnut | Mnemiopsis leidyi | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Shining gum | Eucalyptus nitens | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Siberian chipmunk | Tamias sibiricus | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Signal crayfish | Pacifastacus leniusculus | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Sika deer | Cervus nippon | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Slipper limpet | Crepidula fornicata | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Spiny-cheek crayfish | Orconectes limosus | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Striped barnacle | Amphibalanus amphitrite | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Striped skunk | Mephitis mephitis | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Three-cornered leek | Allium triquetum | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Tingiringi gum | Eucalyptus glaucescens | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Topmouth gudgeon | Pseudorasbora parva | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Tree of heaven | Ailanthus altissima | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Turkish crayfish | Astacus leptodactylus | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Virile crayfish | Orconectes virilis | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Wakame | Undaria pinnatifida | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Water fern | Azolla filliculoides | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Water hyacinth | Eichhornia crassipes | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Water lettuce | Pistia stratiotes | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Water primrose | Ludwigia grandiflora | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Wels catfish | Silurus glanis | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Western green lizard | Lacerta bilineata | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
White river crayfish | Procambarus acutus | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Wireweed | Sargassum muticum | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Worm wart weed | Gracilaria vermiculophylla | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Zander | Sander lucioperca | Rapid Risk Assessment | Complete | Open | |
Zander | Sander lucioperca | Rapid Risk Assessment | Original draft | Open | |
Zebra mussel | Dreissena polymorpha | Risk Assessment | Complete | Open |
Contact us to submit your comments on the risk assessments.
Other Risk Assessment Schemes
The European and Meditteranean Plant Protection Organisation (EPPO) carries out pest risk analysis at the European and Mediterranean scale. Find risk analysis for plant pests (external link) and risk analysis for invasive plants (external link).
The Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK (external link) has been developed by Cefas and colleagues to support the identification and management of invasive non-native aquatic species (Copp et al. 2016 (external link)) and has been applied to a wide range of taxa (Vilizzi et al. 2019 (external link)).