JNCC is an independent UK Government public body, providing robust evidence and trusted advice on issues relating to the natural environment in the UK and elsewhere. JNCC’s in-house team of over 200 experts advises both on the development and the implementation of policies that impact the natural environment. This includes, but is not limited to; advising on negotiating positions in intergovernmental fora, providing evidence on the state of the natural environment to inform policy development, development of novel technologies (e.g. remote sensing), policy analysis, indicator creation, overseeing species monitoring protocols, supporting the development of standardised data collection protocols, advising on sustainable development practices (including land use change), and protected area management. JNCC’s works and has extensive expertise in both the marine and terrestrial environments. Further, JNCC also has expertise on the impacts of chemicals, including nitrogen, on the natural environment.

JNCC has extensive experience of TSC in a variety of settings but particularly in the Caribbean, South America, and Africa. As well as in the UK’s Overseas Territories. A few examples are provided below. In the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), a UK Overseas Territory, JNCC partnered with the Marine Conservation Society and European Union on a project titled “Sustaining queen conch fisheries and livelihoods in the Turks and Caicos Islands”. The aims of this project are to support programmes of work in relation to sustainably managing TCI’s queen conch fisheries, and address CITES requirements for sustainable international trade in this CITES Appendix II listed species. To achieve these aims JNCC worked with the TCI government to develop underwater visual survey methods, estimate the abundance and population status of queen conch, determine estimated levels of local unreported harvest, and Develop a CITES non-detriment finding (NDF) for queen conch fishery. In Chile, JNCC has been involved in a pilot project titled “Natural Capital Approach to Landscape Planning: a Pilot Project in Colchagua Valley”. This project was a collaboration between JNCC and The Wine, Climate Change and Biodiversity Program which is a scientific initiative of the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, and the University Austral of Chile. The aim of the project was to demonstrate how high-resolution Earth Observation data, ecosystem modelling and local ecological knowledge can be combined to inform ecosystem-based management. Through a series of discussions and workshops, stakeholders identified the ecosystem services most relevant to wine production. Models and maps were then developed to bring these ecosystem services into a quantifiable format. These include a land cover map of the Colchagua Valley using Copernicus Sentinel data, and an app called VINES which enables land managers to easily produce visual outputs that signify how management measures affect ecosystem services. In Africa and Asia JNCC has worked with partners in six pilot countries (Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Indonesia and Vietnam) on the Reducing Pollution Through Partnership (RPTP) programme. This one year scoping project aimed to share expertise and best practice on the issue of pollution, and invest in research to strengthen the capacity of low- to middle-income countries (LMICs) to reduce their exposure to its adverse effects. The goal of the project is to reduce the impacts of pollution in the environment which will improve human health, whilst assisting in reversing biodiversity loss and therefore, support greater ecosystem resilience in the face of climate change.