European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils | Bodies

Through the provision of evidence, information and advice JNCC will make a distinctive contribution to three inter-related strategic goals:

i. Decisions affecting the natural environment are informed by a sound UK, EU and global evidence base;

ii. UK government and devolved administrations meet their international obligations and achieve favourable outcomes for biodiversity in the UK and internationally;

In 2011/12, JNCC performance will be measured primarily in terms of delivering outputs of advice, information and services. Twenty-one priority outputs are set out under key objectives.

Objective 1. Maintain and develop biodiversity surveillance programmes, sufficient to achieve policy and statutory obligations cost-effectively

Objective 2. Provide access to, and reporting of, information, evidence and knowledge on UK and international biodiversity

Objective 3. Provide advice to enable UK and devolved governments to meet their EU and international obligations for biodiversity and sustainable development.

Objective 4. Enable UK administrations to substantially complete the UK network of well managed marine protected areas, sufficient to meet national, EU and international requirements.

Objective 5. Provide advice on marine biodiversity to enable sustainable management of the offshore environment

Past Priority Fields

International nature conservation:
International nature conservation will remain a core component of JNCC's work. UK Government is committed to making an appropriate contribution towards the global and EU targets to reduce significantly/halt the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, delivered through multilateral environmental agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, and EU policy and legislation. In 2010/11, attention will shift to reviewing progress against the 2010 targets and developing post-2010 initiatives in response to new EU and global targets.

JNCC's role is to act as a link between international agreements and domestic implementation (which is largely devolved). JNCC provides technical support to Government in its interactions with European and global decision-making bodies, and provide intelligence and analysis to the country conservation bodies and devolved administrations to underpin the development and implementation of devolved policy.

JNCC takes a thematic approach to our international work, promoting consistent messages on the main drivers of biodiversity change, including climate change and invasive alien species, across the many different policy and legislative mechanisms.

Marine nature conservation:
Defra and devolved administrations are devoting more resources to marine nature conservation to meet commitments under the OSPAR Convention, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the Habitats and Birds Directives, and new domestic marine legislation.

Using its extensive marine expertise, JNCC has a key role to play in helping governments to meet their marine objectives. JNCC's efforts will be focused on offshore waters beyond 12 nm, and at a European level, but we will also work with the country conservation bodies and others to ensure that there is a sound evidence base to support decision-making across the marine environment as whole, and that international obligations can be met in a consistent manner.

The UK Marine and Coastal Access Act and Marine (Scotland) Act, supplemented by executive devolution, will provide the Scottish Government with powers for nature conservation in Scottish offshore waters. JNCC's role as statutory adviser to Scottish Government on these responsibilities mean that we will need to continue to strengthen our relationship with Scottish Government as well as maintaining our relationships with Defra and the other devolved administrations. JNCC will also need to establish a strong working relationship with the newly created Marine Management Organisation.

Evidence and Standards:
JNCC will continue to play a key role in providing evidence and policy-relevant information to support environmental decision-taking and policy development within the UK, and advising on the adequacy of the evidence base. An essential part of JNCC's work in this area is our support for long-term biodiversity monitoring programmes - this takes up a large proportion of JNCC's UK co-ordination budget, but it underpins many country and UK applications.

JNCC plays a pivotal role in encouraging and enabling public bodies, industry and volunteers to share their biodiversity data to strengthen the policy evidence base. JNCC also engages with international initiatives to ensure that UK data can be placed within a wider geographical context.

Within the UK, environmental policy is largely devolved but where matters relate to the UK as an EU Member State and other reserved matters, JNCC continues to play a role in establishing UK-wide conservation standards and providing advice. Reduced funding to this work has required JNCC to take difficult decisions to reduce, or bring to an end, some services that stakeholders value or not to initiate work to meet new demands. Notably, JNCC will bring publication of the Geological Conservation Review series to a conclusion during 2010 before all remaining volumes have been completed. However, we will seek to ensure that the information needed by others is made available in a more economic way, for example through electronic publication.

Background and Mission

Establishment

The JNCC, originally established under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, was reconstituted by the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006. Support is provided to the JNCC by a company limited by guarantee (JNCC Support Co) that the Committee established in 2005.

Mission

JNCC provides evidence and advice to assist the UK government and devolved administrations in developing and implementing coherent domestic and international policies on the protection of natural resources as an integral part of sustainable development. The evidence and advice covers biodiversity and geodiversity issues which arise in one or more country within the UK and affect the interests of the UK as a whole, in the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, and, where appropriate, internationally. JNCC disseminates knowledge to foster understanding of these issues.

Through the Support Company, JNCC staff provide support to enable JNCC to advance its vision and mission.

Committee Members

The Committee comprises 14 members: a Chair and five independent members appointed by the Secretary of State; the Chairman of CNCC; the Chairmen or deputy Chairmen of CCW, Natural England and SNH; and one other member from each of these bodies.

Chair Dr. Peter Bridgewater	Former Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
Deputy Chair Prof. Lynda Warren	Independent, Emeritus Professor of Environmental Law Member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP)
Committee Members Mr Patrick Casement	Chairman, Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside (CNCC)
Mr Peter Archdale	Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside (CNCC)
Poul Christensen	Deputy Chairman, Natural England (NE)
David Crawley	Former senior civil servant Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH)
Dr. Bob Brown	Independent
Prof. David Hill	Board Member, Natural England (NE)
Mr Morgan Parry	Chairman, Countryside Council for Wale (CCW)
David Pritchard	Independent, International Treaties Adviser at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Birdlife International
Dr Ieuan Joyce	Member of the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW)
Andrew Thin	Chairman, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH)
Mr Guy Duke	Independent
Ms. Judith Webb	Independent

Staff members

There are more than 130 staff members working for the JNCC, based in offices in Peterborough, Aberdeen and Brussels. Marcus Yeo is the Managing Director.

Work Style

Tasks of the JNCC

Additionally, the JNCC is obliged by law to produce an Annual Report for the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which includes a financial statement.

Substructure and Working Groups

The JNCC's work falls into two broad categories: core work, which covers all of the main advisory functions, and a series of projects that are of a fixed duration. The work can be done through the Committee's own Support Unit, by one country agency leading on behalf of the others, or through a network of agency staff. Much of the work is contracted out.

The special functions are managed by a Board of Directors, which is responsible for ensuring that the company discharges its obligation in respect of delivering the work of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. The Joint Committee itself continues to operate separately from the company to discharge its top level strategic and advisory responsibilities, delegating the delivery of the work required to achieve these to the company, via the Board.

The board consists of 17 directors, 14 of whom are members of the committee, plus 3 additional directors employed by the company. The board meets four times a year, board meetings following on immediately after the quarterly Committee meetings in March, June, September and December.

Type of Advice

The JNCC is a statutory adviser to UK Government on nature conservation issues affecting Great Britain as a whole and the international environment. This advice may cover a wide range of issues, as listed under ‘present priority fields’ above. Advice may be provided in response to a specific Government request, or may be provided at the JNCC’s own initiative.

JNCC Meetings

The Committee meets three times a year in March, June and November. Members discuss strategic nature conservation and organisational issues as well as making high-level advice, strategy, funding and planning decisions.

Next meetings are: for 2011: Thursday 17 November
For 2012: Wednesday 21 March; Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 June; Thursday 15 November
For 2013: Wednesday 27 March; Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 June; Thursday 21 November

Activities in the EEAC Network

Mr. Marcus Yeo, Managing Director of JNCC, acted as EEAC Office supervisor and consequently he was also a member of the EEAC Steering Committee.
As of 2011 Mr. Guy Duke, Board Director of JNCC, is elected as member of the EEAC Steering Committee.

List of Selected Publications

For a list of previous publications please click here. More information on the full range of JNCC publications, leaflets and information is available via the JNCC website http://www.jncc.gov.uk

Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)

Current and Future Activities

Present and Future Priority Fields