Welcome to the 17
th issue of
Nature News,
JNCC’s journal that informs the world about the work we do, and the
partnerships we make to help further nature conservation around the
globe.
There have been recent changes to our
Committee. We bid farewell to Bryan Riddleston, Lucinda
Blakiston Houston and David Ingram. I would like to thank all
of them for their contributions to our work, and in particular
David, who has been with us since 1999, initially as a
representative of Scottish Natural Heritage, before becoming an
independent member – and doing a fine job as Deputy Chair in the
last years.
At this stage, I am able to welcome two new
Committee members - Dr Ieuan Joyce from the Countryside Council for
Wales, and Patrick Casement, Chairman of the Council for Nature
Conservation and the Countryside. This issue, we are able to
learn a lot more about Patrick via his Conservation
Conversation article on the back page. I know from
feedback I have received that many of you find this regular feature
of Nature News both useful and highly entertaining!
One area not touched upon this issue is that
JNCC has been running a public consultation on seven marine sites
that have been selected as draft Special Areas of Conservation
(SACs) under the Habitats Directive. Although the consultation is
open to anyone, around 400 organisations and individuals were
specifically invited to take part. We have held meetings with key
stakeholders, such as those in the oil and gas industry,
fishermen’s organisations and government agencies, to explain how
the consultation is being run and answer any questions they may
have.
The closing date for responses was 14 March,
and by June we expect to have incorporated the results into our
site recommendations, before submitting them to Government. We will
be running a similar consultation for the Dogger Bank draft SAC
later this year, followed by further consultations in 2009.
The next issue of Nature News will have an in-depth
feature on this significant piece of JNCC’s work.
This issue carries the latest update from the
Tracking Mammals Partnership, and the background to the delivery of
the second Habitats Directive Report to Europe. You’ll also
discover how JNCC is involved in the proposal of an international
agreement to conserve endangered migratory birds of prey in Europe,
Africa and Asia.
We investigate the links between health and
biodiversity – not a traditional area of work for JNCC, but we can
assist the health community through many strands of our work, as
demonstrated at COHAB 2008, the Second International Conference on
Health and Biodiversity. There is no doubt that security for food
and energy, and health issues, will become key themes in the next
decade. The challenge for the conservation community to
grapple with is how to balance all this with advancing
conservation.
I hope you enjoy the issue, and I welcome any
feedback and input you may have.
Peter Bridgewater
Chair, JNCC