Partnership renewed 

The Partnership between the JNCC and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has been renewed following its continued success in assessing the health of bird populations.  At a short ceremony on 7 April 2004 during the Waterbirds Around the World conference in Edinburgh, the Partners signed up to the next six years of joint work under a new Memorandum of Agreement.

 

This long-standing Partnership was originally established between the BTO and the Nature Conservancy, the first Government conservation body in Britain.  Throughout its history, the Partners have depended upon the skills and enthusiasm of a huge number of volunteers who go out in all weathers every month of the year to count birds throughout the UK.  The renewal of the JNCC-BTO Partnership Agreement not only recognises the excellent work of the BTO, but also is a tribute to the vital work of so many enthusiastic volunteers.

 

The results are long term counts of bird numbers that are the envy of the rest of the world.  These are used to find out the effects of different factors upon the abundance of common birds.  Declines in many farmland birds are now well known, resulting in a determination by many organisations to act to reverse these losses.  The effects of climate change upon birds are being discovered, showing in a new way the value of long term studies.  Increasingly, the findings from the BTO-JNCC work are being made available via the internet to reach a wider audience in the UK and elsewhere.