David Cooper appointed Chair of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee

Dr David Cooper, Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery member, 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.

This new appointment has 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.

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.

Congratulations David!