Advice to Government on the selection of SACs has been
provided by the statutory nature conservation agencies (the
Countryside Council for Wales (CCW),
Natural England (formally
English Nature) and
Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH),
together with the
Northern Ireland
Environment Agency (formally Environment and Heritage Service
in Northern Ireland). The work of the agencies is co-ordinated
through the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), ensuring
that common standards for site selection are maintained throughout
the UK.