Inter-agency Monitoring Group
The Inter-Agency Monitoring Group has a particularly important
role in developing common standards for monitoring on designated
conservation sites across the UK.
Monitoring designated sites
Sites designated for their nature conservation importance
(including SAC, SPA, Ramsar sites, SSSI, ASSI) have conservation
objectives covering the range of features for which each site
designated, and the range of physical and ecological processes
required to sustain these.
Progress towards these objectives must be monitored to
establish whether a designated site is achieving the conservation
benefit expected of it, and to identify pressures on designated
sites, and the result of management action. It is important that
monitoring uses a consistent UK approach, so
Common Standards Monitoring (CSM) is being
developed.
The Inter-Agency Monitoring Group was established by the JNCC
and the UK's statutory nature conservation agencies to co-ordinate
the development and implementation of the Common Standards
Monitoring programme, including:
- production of guidance;
- establishment of quality assurance processes;
- reporting of results.
Other inter-agency groups are developing
guidance on the attributes, targets
and methods to use in Common Standards Monitoring when
assessing the features of interest on designated sites.