New Chair and members of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee appointed
Source: gov.uk (2025-05-20)

Dr David Cooper named as new Chair; Professor Tom Meagher reappointed and Professor Julia Jones confirmed as new member

Dr David Cooper has been appointed as the Chair of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). The appointment was made in conjunction with the devolved governments and is for a three-year term from 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2028.

Professor Tom Meagher has been reappointed as an independent member of the Committee. Tom’s term will run for four years until 3 April 2029.

Furthermore, Professor Julia Jones has been appointed as an independent member of the Committee. Julia’s term will run for three years until 31 May 2028.

The new appointments have been made on merit and in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

As the UK’s statutory advisor on nature, the JNCC provides scientific evidence and advice to the devolved governments of the UK, the UK government, and the UK’s Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, to help policymakers turn science into action for nature.

Biographical details

Dr David Cooper
- David Cooper is Visiting Fellow at the Oxford Martin School and Honorary Researcher of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery at the University of Oxford.
- David has more than 30 years’ experience in international science and policy, including at the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. As CBD Deputy Executive Secretary and Acting Executive Secretary, he was instrumental in facilitating the development and adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and related agreements.
- David has contributed to the work of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services among other scientific reports and assessments.
- He has chaired a number of bodies including the Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management, the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership, and the Inter-agency liaison group on Invasive Alien Species.
Professor Tom Meagher
- Tom Meagher has been a member of the JNCC since April 2021. He is Professor of Plant Biology at the University of St Andrews and served as Director of the St Andrews Global Challenges Forum. He was previously a member of the Defra Science Advisory Council and the Natural Environment Research Council.
- Tom leads an international and interdisciplinary initiative developing novel remote sensing technology to aid the assessment and conservation of plant biodiversity. He has also worked with the British Council, the British Embassy Lima, and government agencies in Peru to promote the establishment of a national botanic garden and plant biodiversity initiative.
- He has been an active contributor to the Scottish Government’s environmental and conservation science strategy, following his former role as a Trustee of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
Professor Julia Jones
- Julia Jones is Professor in Conservation Science at Bangor University and currently holds the Prince Bernhard Chair of International Nature Conservation at Utrecht University.
- She is a trustee of WWF-UK and is a member of the British Ecological Society and the Society for Conservation Biology. She serves on the advisory board of the Sounds Right initiative, a collaboration between the Museum for the United Nations and the music industry to allow nature to collect royalties from her sounds.
- She has previously served as the Director of the Low Carbon Energy and Environment Research Network Wales, and on the Welsh committee of the RSPB.