The Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) was a United Kingdom government agency responsible for designating and managing National Nature Reserves and other nature conservation areas in Great Britain between 1973 and 1991 (it did not cover

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Origin and Leadership

The NCC was established by the Nature Conservancy Council Act 1973 and replaced the

Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

, established by

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

in 1949. NCC's duties included: * Managing national nature reserves; * Providing advice on nature conservation to national and local government; * Notifying

Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

; * Undertaking certain scientific research. Robert Edward Boote the former director of Nature Conservancy, having worked on revising its organisation was appointed by the Secretary of State for the Environment as the first Director General of the new NCC. He held this post until retiring in 1980 when Richard Charles Steele became Director General

Structure

The organisation was divided into the three countries, each of which was divided in turn into regions covering several

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

. Specialist groups dealt with nationwide issues, such as geology,

cartography Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

s, birds, other taxonomic groups etc. There was a national headquarters, at first in

Belgrave Square Belgrave Square is a large 19th-century garden square in London. It is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and its architecture resembles the original scheme of property contractor Thomas Cubitt who engaged George Basevi for all of the terraces for ...

in London, but later in

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

Chief Scientists

* Peter Bridgewater (1989–1990)

Publications

* ''Earth science conservation in Great Britain: A strategy'' (1990) Peterborough: Nature Conservancy Council :This publication laid out the thinking behind the

Regionally important geological site Regionally important geological and geomorphological sites (RIGS) are locally designated sites of local, national and regional importance for geodiversity (geology and geomorphology) in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man. These sites are also known ...

which were introduced in 1990.

Break-up

In 1991, following the passage of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991, the Nature Conservancy Council was divided into three: *The Scottish part was amalgamated with the Countryside Commission for Scotland to become Scottish Natural Heritage. *The Welsh part was amalgamated with the Welsh part of the Countryside Commission for England and Wales to become the

Countryside Council for Wales The Countryside Council for Wales (CCW; ) was a Welsh Assembly sponsored body responsible for wildlife conservation, landscape and countryside access in Wales. It merged with Forestry Commission Wales, and Environment Agency Wales to form ...

. *The remaining English part became

English Nature English Nature was the Executive agency, United Kingdom government agency that promoted the Conservation (ethic), conservation of wildlife, geology and wild places throughout England between 1990 and 2006. It was a non-departmental public body ...

, remaining separate from the

Countryside Commission The Countryside Commission (formally the Countryside Commission for England and Wales, then the Countryside Commission for England) was a statutory body in England and Wales, and later in England only. Its forerunner, the National Parks Commissi ...

, which also became an England-only body (later these two were included in yet another body,

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

). *A non-statutory

Joint Nature Conservation Committee The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is the public body that advises the Government of the United Kingdom and devolved administrations on UK-wide and international nature conservation. Originally established under the Environmental Pro ...

(JNCC) was set up, to coordinate nature conservation between the three country agencies (and their equivalent in Northern Ireland), and to deal with the UK's contributions to international nature conservation (the JNCC later became a statutory body).

References

External links

The History of Conservation Legislation in the UK, on naturenet
{{authority control Conservation in the United Kingdom Environmental organisations based in the United Kingdom Defunct public bodies of the United Kingdom Defunct environmental agencies 1973 establishments in the United Kingdom 1991 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Government agencies established in 1973 Government agencies disestablished in 1991 Natural Environment Research Council