Guidance and Policy
Statutory provisions
The nature conservation agencies have a duty under the
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, as amended, to notify any area
of land which in their opinion is 'of special interest by reason of
any of its flora, fauna, or geological or physiographical
features'. Such areas are known as Sites of Special Scientific
Interest (SSSIs). The notification is made to owners and occupiers,
local planning authority and the Secretary of State, who may make
representations or objections to the nature conservation agencies
regarding the notification. Any representation or objection made
must be considered by the nature conservation agencies before a
decision is made by them to confirm the notification.
In 1989 the then Nature Conservancy Council published
guidelines for the selection of biological SSSIs. Since 1991 JNCC
has been the focus for the production and revision of the
guidelines.
Common Standards Monitoring
Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (section 133(d)) one
of the special functions to be undertaken through JNCC is the
'establishment of common standards throughout Great Britain for the
monitoring of nature conservation...' In the context of protected
sites, the development of common standards for monitoring provides
two major benefits:
- It provides country agency staff with a reliable method with
which to assess the conservation status of key interest features on
their sites. This enables assessments made by different people at
different times to be compared with some confidence and enables
staff to identify changes taking place on their sites.
- Assessments from different sites can be aggregated to produce
summary reports at a range of geographical scales. This can
identify priorities for action at the local and national level.
Such aggregation is essential if the UK is to report on the
condition of designated sites across the UK, for example to meet
the reporting requirements of EU Directives.
Biological Translocation Policies
Biological translocations are of great significance for
biodiversity conservation. This has been recognised both nationally
within Britain and internationally, notably by the Ramsar
Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). To
fulfil Target 36 of Biodiversity the UK Action Plan (the
UK response to the CBD), JNCC has prepared policy guidance dealing
with species translocations for conservation purposes, and dealing
with habitats translocation. This has been done in conjunction with
the country conservation agencies in England, Scotland and Wales (a
separate initiative is dealing with Northern Ireland).
see Biological Translocation
Policies>
JNCC's Position Statements
JNCC’s Committee is in a unique position to be able to
formulate and present a common voice for the UK’s country
conservation agencies. Nature conservation’s interests spread
across a wide variety of topic areas, and the role of JNCC’s
Position Statements are to represent the beliefs of our constituent
organisations with one voice.
Environment Policy
The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) will aim to
conduct its business and operations to reflect best environmental
practice and implement the principles of sustainable
development. We recognise that all of our activities
and operations impact on the environment and that we have an
obligation to manage and minimise these impacts.
See JNCC
Environment policy
Quinquennial Review of Schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and
Countryside Act, 1981
Every five years, the statutory nature conservation agencies
(Natural England, Countryside Council for Wales and Scottish
Natural Heritage), working jointly through the Joint Nature
Conservation Committee (JNCC), are required to review Schedules 5
and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and to make
recommendations to the Secretary of State and Ministers for the
Environment. Schedule 5 lists animals (other than birds) which are
specially protected, and Schedule 8 lists plants which are
specially protected.
See Latest Quinquennial Review of Schedules 5 and 8 of the
Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981