Using the Strategy
JNCC is documenting the ways in which the Strategy can be used
to examine the balance between surveillance needs and coverage to
support the effective implementation of biodiversity policy.
This documentation provides feedback on the Strategy, and is used
to further develop the Strategy as a useful set of decision
tools.
Analysing policy and reporting needs
Chemical pollution is a policy area that is
among the most advanced in our understanding of which surveillance
schemes can help provide evidence, and how that evidence should be
used in formulating advice. A paper describing a framework
for risk assessment of chemicals was produced as a December 2007 JNCC Committee
paper. The framework is still at an outline stage, but
sufficient detail is presented to indicate the linkage with
surveillance. In particular, Sections 2.7 - 2.10 describe the
linkage between surveillance, other evidence and advice; whilst
Section 5 explicitly addresses monitoring requirements to support
the framework.
A paper on Supporting UK BAP Species and
Habitat Reporting (see below) was produced for the November
2007 meeting of the Biodiversity Reporting and Information
Group. It demonstrates how a particular reporting obligation
can be analysed against the information in the Terrestrial Biodiversity Surveillance Strategy
Database. It also includes an analysis of
cost. The paper may be updated in the future to
reflect the way in which the UK BAP process has evolved since it
was written, and also to provide more information regarding how to
incorporate an assessment of risk into the timescale for
reporting. The paper works from an assumption that
all priority species and habitats will require information
from surveillance to assess their status, and some of these
information needs are already met.
Both of these analyses of policy areas have
been used to update the Surveillance Framework.
Reviewing taxonomic groups – filling gaps and evaluating
coverage
Plant and vegetation surveillance was
identified as an information gap in the Surveillance
Strategy. JNCC hosted a workshop of species and habitat
specialists to clarify the nature of the gap and to assess means to
fill it. Gap filling can be complex, since most schemes will
help to fulfil multiple objectives in the Framework, and most data
uses will require information from multiple schemes. The
Vegetation Workshop Report (see below)identifies a number of tasks
for taking forward the work on plant and vegetation
surveillance.
The Mammal Surveillance Review (see
below) used the three surveillance objectives to evaluate
current mammal surveillance schemes, and to identify any high
priority gaps in surveillance. The review work helped to
develop the three objectives at an early stage of the Strategy
work, and the insights that resulted have been incorporated into
the Surveillance Strategy (July 2008
version).
Eventually, further papers that analyse the
surveillance requirements of other policy areas and gaps in
surveillance will be produced, and these will be used to update the
Surveillance Framework.
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