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In the UK, Japanese knotweed is an invasive, non‐native plant that has the potential to cause significant damage to buildings, foundations and development sites if left to establish. The plant's bamboo‐like stems can push their way through tarmac and expose weaknesses or cracks in concrete. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current problems caused by Japanese knotweed within the UK and to ascertain the extent to which the knotweed legislation provides clear enough guidelines and measures, and, if not, how this could be addressed.

A literature review and interviews have investigated the current and future eradication and control techniques available for Japanese knotweed. The primary and secondary research conducted has incorporated the views and opinions of experienced Japanese knotweed experts. Case studies of sites infested with knotweed have also been carried out.

The study has identified and recommended that both public and professional awareness of Japanese knotweed still needs to be increased, throughout the UK. A detailed identification card has therefore been produced as part of this study, in order to show the different growth stages of the invasive plant, throughout the year. The study has demonstrated that an eradication technique must be carefully chosen and tailored to suit each infested site after a full site survey. The semi‐structured interviews have established that the current legislation, guidance notes and also the “Knotweed Code of Practice” produced by the Environmental Agency, provide adequate guidance on controlling Japanese knotweed. The research highlighted that knotweed spreading from neighbouring properties was a potential problem, but in practice, neighbours usually reach mutual agreement to avoid high legal costs.

Japanese knotweed is an increasing problem in the UK and this research will increase the awareness of those instructed to inspect property or development sites where infestation may have occurred. Professionals within the construction industry including surveyors, estate agents, developers and project managers will all find this paper of benefit.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the state of extinction accounting, and the motivations for its use in the UK public sector. Prior studies are mostly concerned with corporate attempts to account for species, despite studies in related areas calling for examinations of the public sector context.

The paper analyses the use of extinction accounting in three separate case organisations, conducting a total of 21 interviews across the three cases. Interviews were conducted with a range of organisational participants each having experience with extinction accounting.

Interviews reveal a number of common uses and applications of extinction accounting across the three councils. Practices are used to generate reports on species loss and recovery within each region, and to facilitate planning for species protection and recovery. However, in attempting to use this information, key trade-offs emerge between satisfying economic and ecological criteria, and even trade-offs are created regarding development of protection schemes. This leads to a subversion of extinction accounting.

Commensurate with prior studies in the corporate context, the study finds the presence of an economic logic impinging upon ecological decision making, suggesting that practices of extinction accounting may be affected by the same acknowledged economic motivations that reside in corporate attempts to account for nature.

The paper makes an important contribution by evaluating the public sector context of extinction accounting, which is lacking in existing research. The findings relating to the public sector use of species and extinction information also provide a useful context to understand how relatively new social and environmental accounting practices are deployed in organisations, as well as some indication of their effectiveness and limitations.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the emergence of a biological invasion and to explain the potential economic and social consequences on food chains. Straddling between ecology, social sciences, resource management and economics, invasion science is aimed at detecting, understanding and mitigating the impact of biological invasions on receiving ecosystems, including food ecosystems.

After a theoretical investigation about the main notions relevant for the invasion science, the authors practically review the kind of impacts deriving from biological invasions, mainly under economic, human health, ecosystem and biodiversity criteria.

The authors apply the DPSIR (Driving forces–pressure-state-impact-response) framework, originally developed in the context of European Environment Agency in this different context in order to assess the social, economic and environmental impacts of Invasive Alien Species (IAS). Responding to this emerging phenomenon, the European Union issues the EU regulation 1143/2014 which is the first strong act on invasive alien species.

Implications – Food chains are complex systems that have multiple interdependencies both endogenously and exogenously, such as food production, food transportation, food logistics, food distribution, and so forth. However, it is rarely conceived the impact of invasion systems on the dynamics of food chains, although food sustainability is in turn impacted by how effectively and efficiently the various interdependencies have been designed or are working.

Hazardous and radioactive wastes are routinely disposed of in shallow land disposal facilities at sites that have undergone environmental remediation. These residual contaminants, which remain on-site in these isolation facilities, continue to pose risks to humans and the environment and represent extremely long-term liabilities that require continuous management.

This paper draws upon the experiences generated from two federal programs established in response to the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) of 1978 and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980. Operational issues arising at existing sites suggest that there is a need to better integrate the management functions at contaminant isolation facilities. To protect human health and safeguard the natural environment, more sustainable environmental protection systems are required for the long-term management of residual contaminants. A series of logic diagrams are introduced to improve the integration and management of remedial processes, engineered barriers and institutional controls. These institutional responsibilities need to be monitored and maintained by the appropriate site stewards to ensure continued system performance.