A Review of Marine Nature Conservation (RMNC) was established
in 1999, by Defra, to examine how effectively the UK system for
protecting nature conservation in the marine environment is working
and make proposals for improvements. A cross sectoral Working
Group, to which the JNCC and the country agencies contribute, was
convened to undertake the Review. The original remit of the Working
Group focused on territorial waters of England and Wales, and was
extended in 2000 to cover the continental shelf and superjacent
waters under UK jurisdiction (usually up to 200 nautical miles from
the coast). The Working Group has a wide membership drawn from
statutory and non-statutory organisations, industry and user groups
with a particular interest in the marine environment.
The RMNC
interim
report and recommendations was produced in March 2001. A key
recommendation was a proposal for a pilot scheme to test ways of
integrating nature conservation into key sectors at the regional
seas scale in order to make an effective contribution to
sustainable development on a regional basis. Following RMNC
discussions and preparation of a detailed specification, the Irish
Sea pilot was announced by Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at the launch of the
Marine
Stewardship Report (
Safeguarding our Seas: A strategy for
the conservation and sustainable development of our marine
environment) on 1 May 2002.
Research Reports prepared
for the RMNC
Draft criteria to identify nationally
important marine nature conservation features. This report was
prepared by country agency and conservation NGO staff led by David
Connor (JNCC). It takes forward a recommendation of the interim
report of the RMNC and contributes to the development of the new
framework for marine nature conservation. The report was approved
by the RMNC at its November 2002 meeting and the draft criteria
will now be tested and refined by the Irish Sea Pilot.
The following reports, describing a new nature
conservation framework for the marine environment were submitted to
the RMNC working group.
Laffoley, D. d'A. & Bines, T.
Prepared by English Nature based on the views of a sample for
the members of the DETR Working Group on the Review of Marine
Nature Conservation. Peterborough: English Nature Research Reports,
No. 390. 20 pp.
.
Laffoley, D. d'A
Prepared by English Nature for the DETR Working Group on the
Review of Marine Nature Conservation. Peterborough: English Nature
Research Reports, No. 391. 20 pp.
Laffoley, D. d'A., Connor, D.W., Tasker, M.L. & Bines,
T.
Prepared for the DTR Working Group on the Review of Marine
Nature Conservation by English Nature and the Joint Nature
Conservation Committee. Peterborough: English Nature Research
Reports, No. 392. 17 pp.
Laffoley, D. d'A., Baxter, J., Bines, T., Bradley, M., Connor,
D.W., Hill, M., Tasker, M. & Vincent, M.
Prepared by the statutory nature conservation agencies,
Environment Heritage Services (Northern Ireland) and JNCC for the
DETR Working Group on the Review of Marine Nature Conservation.
Peterborough: English Nature Research Reports, No.
394. 29 pp.
Connor, D.W., Breen, J., Champion, A., Gilliland, P.M.,
Huggett, D., Johnston, C., Laffoley, D. d'A., Lieberknecht, L.,
Lumb, C., Ramsay, K., and Shardlow, M.
Peterborough, Joint Nature Conservation Committee (on behalf
of the statutory nature conservation agencies and Wildlife and
Countryside Link) for the Defra Working Group on the Review of
Marine Nature Conservation.