The UK Biodiversity Partnership
The UK Biodiversity Partnership replaced the UK Biodiversity Group in 2002 following the Governments response to the Millennium Biodiversity Report, with the aim of bringing together all the partners involved in or with an interest in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan and in policy on biodiversity, and to co-ordinate action that should be taken forward at a UK level.
The UK Biodiversity Partnership comprises a wide range of people from those who provide funds, amateur and professional experts to those who are interested in the rich wildlife and natural history of the UK. They are private individuals, business, government and non government representatives and many are represented on several formal bodies as outlined below.
UK Biodiversity Partnership Conferences
The full partnership has met annually in Summer since 2003 and its work is supported by a Standing Committee which includes representatives of the four country groups, the agencies and conservation NGOs.
The seventh Partnership Conference will be held in England in late summer or early autumn 2009. The date and venue will be advertised later this year.
The sixth Partnership Conference was held in Aberystwyth on 10 and 11 September 2008 with this year's theme focusing on "Biodiversity - a Keystone of Sustainable Development". To read the Conference Programme and view some of the presentations , click here and then follow the links in the programme. Click this link for Workshop outputs.
The fifth partnership conference was held in Aviemore, Scotland from Tuesday 9 to Thursday 11 October 2007. The theme of this conference was "Volunteering". Click this link to view presentations from the conference.
The 2006 UK Biodiversity Partnership conference was held from 20 to 21 June 2006 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Click here to view presentations from the conference, and here to read notes from the workshops.
The 2005 UK Biodiversity Partnership Conference was held in Bristol, England on the 14-15 June 2005. Click this link to view the presentation given by Paul Rose of JNCC "Update on Review of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan - Report from the Biodiversity Reporting and Information Group". This presentation outlines the Species and Habitats Review, the Targets Review and the 2005 Reporting round.
The UK Biodiversity Partnership Annual Conference 2004 - People and Biodiversity - was held on 21 and 22 June at the National Museum and Gallery in Cardiff, Wales. Click this link to view the 2004 Conference Report and select the links in the programme to view some of the presentations.
The first UK Biodiversity Partnership Conference was held in May 2003 in Perth, Scotland. Click this link to read an account of the first full meeting of the Partnership conference UK Biodiversity Partnership Conference Perth 2003
UK Biodiversity Partnership Standing Committee
The UK Biodiversity Partnership Standing Committee is chaired by the Director of Wildlife, Countryside and Flood Management of DEFRA while the Chairs of the four Country Biodiversity Groups, representatives of the four country nature conservation agencies and representatives of the NGO community are standing members. This core membership ensures that the views of the country partnerships are represented and that the group retains its strong biodiversity focus.
The Standing Committee’s role is to guide and support the UK Biodiversity Partnership in implementing the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, facilitate the exchange of information among the Country Biodiversity Groups and oversee the maintenance of systems to support and report on a common set of UK Habitat and Species Action Plans.
Two support groups have been set up to help the Standing Committee manage the UK BAP process. These are the UK Biodiversity Reporting and Information Group and the UK Biodiversity Research Advisory Group.
The overall purpose of the Biodiversity Research Advisory Group is to provide advice to the community of biodiversity research funding bodies, research users and research institutions about biodiversity research priorities and co-ordination in the UK. The aims of the group are to:
- promote and facilitate research in support of the delivery of UK BAP objectives, and hence implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
- enable effective and efficient UK engagement with European and international biodiversity research initiatives
- contribute to effective biodiversity research networking in the UK, leading to increased interdisciplinary capacity
BRAG now has its own website, please follow this link www.ukbrag.org
The Biodiversity Reporting and Information Group maintains the UK List of Priority Species and Habitats taking account of developing information and policy and the needs of the Country Biodiversity Groups. It also co-ordinates reporting on the UK BAP through BARS, making this information available to all the partners in the UK BAP process. More detailed Terms of Reference are listed on the BRIG home page.
Country biodiversity groups
Given the devolution of powers to Scottish, Welsh and Irish administrations there are four Country Biodiversity Groups who identify the directions and policy instruments that can be used to implement the action plans at the country-level. These Groups also play an important role in promoting the distinctive elements of biodiversity in each of the four countries that make up the UK
There are four Country Biodiversity Groups:
England Biodiversity Group
Scotland Biodiversity Committee
Northern Ireland Biodiversity Group
Wales Biodiversity Partnership