The complexity of the natural environment, coupled with limited monitoring resources, both financial and material, means that schemes for monitoring the natural environment need to be well designed.
We have considerable experience in developing and implementing monitoring strategies and standards, to ensure that monitoring schemes are fit-for-purpose and cost effective. Our experts have a sound understanding of the natural environment and the issues facing it. By combining this with our insight into how evidence sources can support emerging policy requirements, we provide advice on how to maximise investment from monitoring schemes.
We work with our partners to ensure that resources are effectively and efficiently deployed to ensure a good return, in terms of value for money, data coverage, and data use, and continually seek improvements and efficiencies. We also use our extensive knowledge of monitoring methodologies and requirements to develop and influence monitoring standards in the terrestrial and marine environments. This promotes high standards in data collection and enables data to be compared, collated and to have multiple uses.
We:
Develop strategies: We develop cost-effective strategies and approaches to monitoring the natural environment, making best use of emerging techniques and technologies. As part of this work, we facilitate the sharing of strategic approaches in monitoring schemes.
Create standards and guidance: We produce standards, guidance and protocols to ensure consistency and quality assurance of data gathered, and enable integration of data from different sources. Recently, following a review of seabed habitat monitoring and assessments, we produced guidance on the design of seabed habitat surveys.
Build strong partnerships: Effective monitoring requires partnership working, to make best use of the expertise held by different organisations, in pursuit of shared priorities. We have extensive experience of facilitating partnerships. In 2017, we created the Terrestrial Evidence Partnership of Partnerships (UKTEPoP), to bring together partners working on terrestrial biodiversity monitoring, and hold an annual UKTEPoP meeting to share knowledge and exchange ideas.
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