Species
An important part of JNCC's work concerns species
conservation. This includes giving advice on UK policy and
legislation regarding species, as well as commissioning and
supporting
surveillance and monitoring schemes to assess
and report upon the changing status of species in the UK. This
section covers terrestrial and freshwater species.
Find
out about marine species.
Current Topics of Interest
Phytophthora impacts on biodiversity
Phytophthora is a genus of plant-damaging water moulds
that are responsible for a number of notorious plant diseases, such
as potato blight. Three species, named ramorum,
kernoviae and pseudosyringae have recently been
identified in the UK affecting heathland plants. They are
believed to be non-native, and may have been introduced
via international horticultural trade. Further information on
Phytophthora>>>
Species Status
JNCC has collated information on species status and
designations, and you can download the list as a spreadsheet.
A new review of dragonfly species status updates has been
published: The Odonata Red List for Great Britain
(2008), Daguet, C., French, G., and Taylor, P., (eds). This
replaces the assessment published over 20 years ago in the Insect
Red Data Book (Shirt, 1987). Over the intervening years dragonfly
recording effort has strengthened, the IUCN Red List criteria and
categories have been radically overhauled and the distribution of
dragonfly species has changed.
Quinquennial Review

Every five years, the statutory nature conservation agencies
(Natural England, Countryside Council for Wales and Scottish
Natural Heritage), working jointly through the Joint Nature
Conservation Committee (JNCC), are required to review Schedules 5
and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and to make
recommendations to the Secretary of State and Ministers for the
Environment. Schedule 5 lists animals (other than birds) which are
specially protected, and Schedule 8 lists plants which are
specially protected.
Link: The Fifth Quinquennial Review of Schedules 5
and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981
Avian Influenza

Biological Records Centre: Report 1999-2004
This report highlights major
achievements, including new atlases and improved data access
via the NBN Gateway.
More>>>