Insect Conservation: Past, Present and Prospects
This multi-authored book, with contributions from many of the leading and most influential workers in insect conservation, traces the development of the discipline and its acceptance as an important component of biodiversity conservation. Practical
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Insect Conservation in the United Kingdom – The Role of the Joint Committee for the Conservation of British Insects and Invertebrate Link (JCCBI) Michael G. Morris and Oliver D. Cheesman
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Introduction
Invertebrate Link (JCCBI) is a forum for voluntary and professional organisations involved in the conservation and study of invertebrates in the UK. There are currently 36 member organisations, including the leading conservation bodies, entomological societies and statutory agencies (see Table 2.1). The objective is to ‘advance the conservation of invertebrates in the UK by facilitating exchange of information between relevant organisations and statutory bodies, and by providing a context for co-operative ventures in relation to the development of strategy, policy, principles and best practice’. The history (and prehistory) of this umbrella and co-ordinating body is a long one, and reflects changes in approaches to conservation, particularly of insects and other invertebrates, over many years. Compared with vertebrates, especially birds, and vascular plants, insects and invertebrates generally have been a minority concern for conservationists historically. The reasons for this are well known, but a brief consideration of them may help to put the history of Invertebrate Link (JCCBI) and its predecessor bodies in context. In most cases, insects are small and inconspicuous. They are not furry, feathery or cuddly. Nor are they stationary in the environment as are plants and fungi. The few British butterflies attract interest and attention and have been considered to be ‘honorary vertebrates’ by some conservationists. Moths, dragonflies and orthopterans have also attracted greater attention recently, in part because of the influence of digital photography as a potential method of recording. However, most insects still defy the attention of most conservationists. Above all, there is the ‘taxonomic impediment’, by which is meant the difficulty of identifying and naming any M.G. Morris (*) Orchard House, 7 Clarence Road, Dorchester, DT1, 2HF, UK e-mail: [email protected] O.D. Cheesman Invertebrate Link (JCCBI), c/o Royal Entomological Society, The Mansion House, Chiswell Green Lane, St Albans AL2 3NS, UK
T.R. New (ed.), Insect Conservation: Past, Present and Prospects, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-2963-6_2, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2012
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M.G. Morris and O.D. Cheesman Table 2.1 Invertebrate Link (JCCBI) Member Organisations as at January 2011 Amateur Entomologists’ Society Ancient Tree Forum Aquatic Coleoptera Conservation Trust Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society Biological Records Centre British & Irish Association of Zoos & Aquariums (Terrestrial Invertebrates Working Group) British Arachnological Society British Dragonfly Society British Entomological & Natural History Society British Myriapod & Isopod Group Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust Butterfly Conservation Conchological Society of Great Britain & Ireland Countryside Council for Wales Dipterists’ Forum Environment Agen
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