Introduction
The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is the
statutory adviser to Government on UK and international nature
conservation. Its work contributes to maintaining and
enriching biological diversity, conserving geological features and
sustaining natural systems.
The JNCC delivers the UK-wide and international
responsibilities of the Council for Nature Conservation and the
Countryside, the Countryside Council for Wales, Natural England and
Scottish Natural Heritage. The functions that arise from
these responsibilities are principally to:
- advise Government on the development and implementation of
policies for, or affecting, nature conservation in the UK and
internationally;
- provide advice and disseminate knowledge on nature conservation
issues affecting the UK and internationally;
- establish common standards throughout the UK for nature
conservation, including monitoring, research, and the analysis of
results; and
- commission or support research which it deems relevant to these
functions.
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 April 2005.
The UK Sustainable Development Strategy,
Securing the Future, published in March 2005, made a commitment
that all government departments and executive agencies would
produce a Sustainable Development Action Plan. Defra have extended
this commitment to its non-departmental public bodies, including
the JNCC.