Common Standards Monitoring (CSM)
Common Standards Monitoring review (2018 onwards)
Common Standards Monitoring is under review by JNCC and an
inter-agency working group comprising the four statutory nature
conservation bodies (Natural England, Natural Resources Scotland,
Scottish Natural Heritage and the Department of Agriculture,
Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland).
This group is revising the 1998 Statement to address site
monitoring priorities and incorporate the large amount of
information available through new monitoring methods such as
satellite imagery and eDNA. These techniques will work alongside
traditional field-based monitoring and the Common Standards
Guidance to provide more options for monitoring the UK’s protected
sites.
What is Common Standards Monitoring?
One of the key responsibilities of the statutory nature
conservation agencies in the UK is the identification and
protection of a series of sites intended to conserve important
wildlife and earth science features. Such sites may be designated
under:
- National legislation (Sites of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSIs) in Britain and Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSIs)
in Northern Ireland);
- European Directives (Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and
Special Protection Areas (SPAs)); or
- International Conventions (Ramsar sites).
Once sites have been designated, the country agencies work with
owners, occupiers and others to secure their management and
protection.
Common Standards Monitoring is intended to be:
- A simple, quick, assessment of feature condition;
- For protected sites (SAC, SPA, Ramsar, SSSI, ASSI);
- Supported by limited, more detailed monitoring.
'Features' are the species, habitats and geological and
geomorphological characteristics for which sites are
protected. For example, they might be:
- seals, butterflies, breeding birds;
- woodlands, lagoons, heathlands;
- fossils, landforms.
The Common Standards Monitoring Report
for designated sites was published in June
2006.