After years of collaboration, the Blue Belt Programme is delighted to welcome the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) as an Associate Partner. The partnership brings together world-leading expertise in marine conservation and natural resource management.
As an Associate Partner of the Blue Belt Programme, JNCC’s involvement will enhance the scope of advice and assistance provided to the UK Overseas Territories. This will support the OTs in achieving their priorities in the protection and sustainable use of their marine resources which are essential for food security, livelihoods, and the well-being of coastal communities.
This partnership comes at a critical time following the launch of the ambitious UK Overseas Territories Biodiversity Strategy between the UK government and all the Overseas Territories in November. With over 90% of the UK’s unique species found within the UKOTs - many of which face threats due to climate change, pollution, habitat loss, and invasive species - the strategy sees the UK and Overseas Territories rally behind a single, shared ambition to protect their unique biodiversity.
We spoke with Natalie Askew and Beth Stoker, the Directors of International Evidence and Advice at JNCC. They explain the extensive history of JNCC and Blue Belt’s collaboration, how JNCC’s new role will benefit the programme, and introduces this partnership’s role in delivering the new UKOT biodiversity strategy.
Who are the JNCC and what is your specific role as a partner of the Blue Belt Programme?
The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is the only UK statutory adviser on nature that operates across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well internationally. We work to align action for nature and climate change to deliver outcomes that tackle climate breakdown, accelerate nature recovery, and benefit people.
As the UK Government’s statutory advisor on nature conservation for the UK Overseas Territories, JNCC works in partnership with Territory governments and administrations to support their conservation ambitions.
While recognising that the Overseas Territories are self-governing, JNCC provides expertise, guidance, and technical support to help achieve shared environmental goals. Over time, JNCC has developed strong, long-standing relationships with the Territories and with other organisations working across the region.
JNCC is now an Associate Partner in the Blue Belt Programme, working with OT Governments, Cefas, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Within this partnership, JNCC is part of the team that consults with UK Overseas Territory representatives to understand their specific conservation priorities and design projects that directly support these goals.
Currently, JNCC leads on several key work areas within the programme, including understanding migratory species distribution in a changing climate, nature-based solutions, and condition assessment of the marine environment and marine protected areas. For example, JNCC is exploring how data, collected by the Blue Belt's Global Ocean Wildlife Analysis Network (GOWAN) programme, could feed into indicator assessments of seafloor habitat conditions.
Like the other Blue Belt partners, our overarching aim is to support the Territories in achieving their conservation objectives by providing additional capacity, tools, and technical guidance to strengthen environmental management and decision-making.
How has the partnership between JNCC and the Blue Belt Programme supported conservation measures in the UK Overseas Territories over the past 10 years, and what makes that partnership so successful?
The partnership between JNCC and the Blue Belt Programme has grown steadily stronger over the years. Our long-standing relationships and work across the UK Overseas Territories have provided valuable historical context, continuity, and established networks that continue to benefit the programme today.
This collaboration has helped to bring together UK organisations and Territory partners more effectively, aligning expertise and resources to deliver more impactful and coherent conservation outcomes. Through this integration, we’ve aimed to ensure that the work carried out under the Blue Belt Programme builds on past initiatives, shares lessons learnt, and remains closely aligned with Territory priorities.
Ultimately, the success of the partnership comes down to a shared commitment to the same goal - supporting the UK Overseas Territories in conserving their unique marine and coastal environments. But it also reflects the dedication and openness of the Territories themselves, whose willingness to collaborate and co-design projects with UK partners is what truly drives the programme’s impact.
JNCC have just been made an Associate Partner of Blue Belt – can you tell us more what that means for the programme/future relationship?
Becoming an Associate Partner formally recognises JNCC’s role within the Blue Belt programme and the value of our technical input. It means we’ll be more integrated into programme governance, planning, and strategic development, while continuing to provide independent, science-led advice.
It’s really about creating smoother coordination across the partnership and ensuring that JNCC’s expertise on nature in areas like monitoring, indicators, and climate resilience is built directly into delivery plans and future priorities.
What is the UKOT biodiversity strategy and how will JNCC and the Blue Belt Programme work together to deliver it?
JNCC has been working closely with Defra and the UK Overseas Territories to develop a new UK Overseas Territories (UKOT) Biodiversity Strategy through an extensive programme of stakeholder engagement that sets out a shared framework for conserving and restoring biodiversity across all the Territories, acknowledging global goals such as the 30x30 target to protect 30% of the planet’s land and sea by 2030. The strategy aims to strengthen collaboration between the Territories and UK partners, ensuring that conservation action is evidence-based, locally led, and globally relevant.
JNCC and the Blue Belt Programme are already working closely to translate strategic commitments into practical action, by improving evidence baselines, building capacity, and developing tools and guidance to help Territories track and report their progress.
The strategy’s principles are integrated into Blue Belt’s strategic planning, helping to align current work with the long-term vision for biodiversity conservation across the UK Overseas Territories
You are the government lead for Indicator K4. Can you tell us a bit more about this work, what other indicators/criteria are included and how this will support UK Overseas Territories in managing their MPAs?
Indicator K4 measures the extent and condition of terrestrial and marine protected areas in the UK Overseas Territories. It shows changes in coverage of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) across the UKOTs, from a 2020 baseline. Protected area extent data is provided by UKOT governments and aggregated across UKOTs. The indicator will also demonstrate the condition of protected areas in the UKOTs, using aspects of protected area condition that can be assessed cost-effectively.
Indicator K4 will help to improve clear evidence on the state of protected areas on the UK Overseas Territories. It measures both the extent of terrestrial and marine protected areas and the condition of the ecosystems within them. This includes assessing drivers of change, data sources, and the resources available to ensure these areas deliver real conservation outcomes.
The work of K4 is underpinned by a set of biodiversity indicators to consider factors such as biodiversity trends, species status, and pressures on habitats, as well as potential effects from climatic drivers such as coastal erosion caused by increased storminess. Together, these indicators help territories understand not just how much area is protected, but how effectively those protections are working.
For UK Overseas Territories, this work is valuable because it highlights successes, identifies gaps where additional support or investment may be needed, and shows how management actions influence biodiversity. It also promotes consistency in reporting across territories, making it easier to demonstrate progress internationally and attract future funding for conservation.
What future work under the new Blue Belt Programme strategy are you most looking forward to progressing?
As we move into the next phase of the Blue Belt Programme, we are particularly excited about the opportunity to deepen our work across the three interconnected themes of Nature, Climate, and People. These aren’t just pillars of the strategy; they are inseparable dimensions of the same challenge and opportunity.
At JNCC, we’re looking forward to working with the Territories, MMO and Cefas to advance work that strengthens marine biodiversity and ecosystem resilience, while also supporting climate adaptation and mitigation through nature-based solutions. The recent signing of JNCC’s Memorandum of Understanding with the Climate Change Committee marks a pivotal moment in aligning scientific advice on nature and climate. It reinforces the principle that there is no route to tackling climate change that does not involve nature - and no pathway to nature recovery that does not consider climate change.
But perhaps most importantly, we’re committed to ensuring that people remain at the heart of this work. Conservation and climate resilience must be locally led, culturally grounded, and socially inclusive. The Blue Belt Programme’s over-arching principles recognise the importance of traditional, cultural, and local knowledge, alongside scientific evidence. We’re also proud to support the Programme’s commitments to Safeguarding and Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, which are essential for delivering equitable and lasting impact.
Whether it’s helping Territories assess the condition of marine protected areas, supporting Territories to assess and develop evidence-based nature-based solutions, or building resilience to climate-related threats, the future of the Blue Belt Programme is about empowering communities, strengthening ecosystems, and driving forward innovative solutions that benefit nature, climate, and people, together.
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