Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

moved Amendment No. 272:"Page 11, line 20, after ““conversation,”” insert—" ““(   )   increasing biodiversity,”” The noble Baroness said: In moving this amendment, I shall speak also to Amendment No. 273. This is an important section of the Bill, considering biodiversity. Amendment No. 272 follows on from earlier amendments where I drew attention to the first of English Nature’s duties under the general purpose clause—it seems a long time since we were talking about that. The first duty couples promoting nature conservation and protecting biodiversity. On page 11, Natural England, as one of the UK conservation bodies, is charged with exercising its conservation functions through the JNCC wherever those functions raise issues, or touch on the interests, of the rest of the UK or overseas. If Natural England has a duty that couples conservation with protecting biodiversity, we wonder why the JNCC does not also have a responsibility to use its cross-border influences in promoting biodiversity alongside conserving nature. In Amendment No. 273 we seek to strengthen what is already in the Bill. The use of the word ““understanding”” in this context is interesting. It may represent something deep, possibly lasting and affective, as in ““John and Mary have an understanding””. It can, however, represent something quite vague and wishy-washy, as in ““it is my understanding that””, which is open to—indeed, invites—criticism and contradiction. In the context of the responsibilities of the JNCC, fostering the ““understanding”” of nature conservation is not capable of assessment, evaluation or even monitoring. How does one prove or demonstrate that the level of understanding has deepened, or that the amount of it has widened? If, however, one has to foster the practice, then one will show solid results, or lack thereof. The JNCC should be more than a talking shop, or even a communication node. It should be a body working to ensure progress across a number of fronts. It can only be judged if the standards it has set are capable of oversight and a degree of measurement. This is an important amendment. I beg to move.