Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside for Northern Ireland (CNCC)

Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside (CNCC)
Waterman House
5-33 Hill Street
Belfast
Northern Ireland, BT1 2LA
United Kingdom
Tel. + 44 28 90543 076/050
Fax + 44 28 90543 047
secretariat-hillst@doeni.gov.uk

www.cnccni.gov.uk 


Current and Future Activities

Establishment and Mission

Council Members and Staff Members

Working Style

List of Selected Publications 


Current and Future Activities

Present Priority Fields

Marine and Coastal

Planning and Landscape

Renewables and Waste

Agri-environmental policy

To keep abreast of policy and other developments in agriculture which have significance, whether good or bad, for nature conservation and the countryside in Northern Ireland and to consult and inform the full Council as appropriate on these matters.

Access and amenity

Ecosystems and designations

Future Priority Fields

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Background and Mission

Establishment

The CNCC was established in 1989 under the provisions of the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1989. Its statutory role is also covered by the provisions of The Environment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002.

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Mission

The council advises the government on many issues relating to nature conservation and the protection of the countryside such as planning and landscape issues including National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty; designation of Areas of Special Scientific Interest and National Nature Reserves; protection of wildlife species and other nature conservation issues both terrestrial and marine.

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Council Members

CNCC is made up of 19 members who cover a wide range of environmental expertise and experience throughout Northern Ireland. Membership of the Council is sought through public advertisement and appointments are ratified by the Minister for the Environment. The term of appointment is for a three year period, but members might be eligible for a re-appointment subject to satisfactory service. However, members can have an option for a further period in competition with other applicants. 

Chair

Mr Patrick Casement

 

Farmer, Member of the Board of Trustees of the National Trust, Chairman of the National Trust in Northern Ireland, Chairman of the Cushendun Building Preservation Trust

Deputy Chair

Mr Brian Murphy

 

Retired Civil Servant

Mr John H Anderson  Self-employed engineer
Mr Brian Black Specialist television producer dealing with natural history and countryside issues
Dr Bob Brown Chairman of the Northern Ireland Biodiversity Group
Mr James Campbell Senior Environmental Health Officer
Mr Malachy Campbell Policy Officer in WWF Northern Ireland
Mr Patrick Gregg  Director, Woodland Trust
Mr Joseph Furphy Retired Civil Servant
Mr Archie Gibson Farmer and Company Director
Mr Mervyn Hill Education advisor
Mr Dermot Hughes Environmental Consultant
Mr James Jackson Retired Town Planner/Northern Ireland Housing Executive Manager
Mr Aidan Lonergan Director, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Mr Harold McBride Botanic expert
Dr Alexandra McGarel Policy Officer, WWF Northern Ireland and Ulster Farmers’ Union
Mr Robert Northridge Vice-Principal – grammar school. Chairman of Fermanagh Naturalists’ Field Club
Mr James Simpson Farmer, Formerly employed by Ulster Farmers Union and Ballymoney Borough Council
Mr Patrick Warner  Divisional Manager of the Republic of Ireland's National Parks and Wildlife Service, Roscommon

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Staff Members

There are 3 Secretariat staff. The offices of the Council are located in a government building. It should be noted though that CNCC is an independent statutory advisory body.

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Work Style

Tasks of the Council

The Council's functions set out in the (above mentioned) areas of legislation can be summarised as follows:

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Substructure and Working Groups

Four new working groups are currently active:

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Type of Advice

The CNCC advice feeds to the Government mostly through the new NI Environment Agency, an Agency of the Department of the Environment, and in response to various government consultations. It may also have direct access to the Minister of the Environment through meetings and correspondence.

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Council Meetings

The main Council meets once every two months with ad hoc meetings of Council and its working groups throughout the year to deal with specific issues. Proposed dates of Council meetings for the year 2008 are: 10th/11th January, 29th February, 9th May, 17th June, 4th/5th September and 7th November. There are no dates for the ad hoc meetings since they can be arranged for any date.

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Activities in the EEAC Network

CNCC joined EEAC in 2008. It is represented on the EEAC Environmental Governance Working Group.

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List of Selected Publications

You can search for the full list of policy advice in the EEAC  Search Engine which also includes the titles in English of publications available in original language only.

The Council will from time to time issue position papers and reports and responds to consultation documents. Our current position papers are as follows: 

 

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Copyright © 2000-2008 by European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils, Den Haag. All Rights Reserved.
Last updated: 19 August 2008.