Leaving on an even keel
The Chairman of the JNCC, Katharine Bryan, has been
appointed Chief Executive of the Water Service in Northern Ireland.
Here she takes the opportunity to look back at her time with
us.
It is with mixed feelings that I move on to a new opportunity,
back within the water industry. However, I wanted to take this chance to thank everyone who has
assisted in raising the importance of the role and function of JNCC
on the conservation landscape during my tenure, both here in the UK
and in many territories abroad. It has been tremendous to hear from
so many quarters how much the experience and expertise of JNCC
staff is valued, and indeed actively sought out.
A new strategy
A full programme of consultation with JNCC's staff and
external stakeholders began after the September Committee meeting,
and work has continued apace. Within the process, JNCC is keen to
involve everyone with an interest in such work, as different ways
of looking at the matters in hand can be very beneficial to the end
result. I believe that the final outcome will fortify the remit of
JNCC, and clarify the role of all the statutory conservation
agencies in the UK. You can find out more background in this
newsletter.
The Haskins Review and JNCC
Lord Haskins' report on rural delivery in England has now been
published on the
Defra website, together with a response by Secretary of State
Margaret Beckett.
One of the main recommendations of the report is that
Government should create a new integrated agency responsible for
sustainable land use and the natural environment, bringing together
English Nature, the Rural Development Service and part of the
Countryside Agency. It is proposed that this new agency would take
on English Nature's role in delivering the 'special functions'
through the JNCC.
At this stage we cannot judge whether the proposed changes
will have any impact on the role and responsibilities of the JNCC,
or the way in which it operates. There will now be an assessment of
the potential implications and, over the next few weeks,
discussions on the significant issues with Government and the
country agencies.
Personal highlights
To the fore of my memories of my time with JNCC was engaging
members of the Councils/Boards of the country agencies in debating
JNCC's draft strategy. It was a wonderful opportunity to resolve
misunderstandings about JNCC's role and intent, combined with first
class discussions on nature conservation at a strategic level. It
is a wish of mine for members from the country agencies to meet
each other periodically to further strengthen relationships and
promote nature conservation at the UK level.
JNCC's successes in the international arena are a very good
reason for celebration. From species work including basking shark
and guillemot, to our staff having a key involvement in the Bermuda
conference on conservation in UK Overseas Territories, and work
within the Ramsar Convention's Scientific and Technical Review
Panel, JNCC has been adding steadily to its credentials.
I am also very happy to see the growing interest and
appreciation for JNCC's marine remit. This area of work has gained
support both from sponsor agency Defra, and within the Brussels
community, with acceptance and praise of our advice concerning the
Darwin Mounds. The Committee also had a great deal of enthusiasm
for the Irish Sea Pilot project, an area of work of which JNCC can
be justifiably proud.
I hope you enjoy reading more about JNCC's recent work in this
issue – from the latest title in the Geological Conservation Review
publication series to the issues surrounding Genetically Modified
Organisms, from the remit of the Biodiversity Research Action Group
(BRAG) to a soils conservation seminar.
The JNCC has scientific expertise that is unique not only in
the UK, but also worldwide. It was something I hadn't fully
appreciated when I took up the role of Chairman, and it fills me
with great pride to think that the UK is held in such esteem
throughout the global nature conservation community. I wish the
organisation, and all of its staff, the very best for the
future.
Katharine Bryan
Chairman
JNCC