Species
The balance of different types of plants, animals and other
species is vital to a healthy, functioning ecosystem. Loss of
diversity matters because it is the way different organisms
interact that helps regulate many natural and essential processes,
like the growth cycles of plants, the mating seasons of animals and
weather systems.
The conservation of species forms an important part of the
biodiversity strategies of the countries in the UK. JNCC plays an
important co-ordination role by providing advice on species
conservation. It is delivered mainly through a number of
inter-agency groups that are made up of specialists drawn from
Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Countryside Council
for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.
We also engage with conservation-orientated non-governmental
organisations and specialist societies as well as having a number
of statutory responsibilities in the area of species conservation.
Find out more about species conservation in the UK.
- Species designations - We maintain a collation
of UK species designations, which is available to download as a
spreadsheet.
- Species surveillance - JNCC spends more than
£1 million a year on surveillance of species working in partnership with other organisations.
- NBN Gateway - Species distribution data are
available via the NBN Gateway.
- UK BAP species – We co-ordinate work on UK
priority species and habitats through the UK Biodiversity Reporting and Information
Group (BRIG). The work includes co-ordinating the selection of
which species and habitats deserve priority status and maintaining
the list of priority species and details of actions taken to
conserve them. Through BRIG, JNCC has also produced status reports
on the priority species and habitats.