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.

 

Figure 1.3: The SAC selection process in the UK (Defra 2001)