Dr. Claire Cooper:

It is widely acknowledged that there is an information deficit in terms of the formulation of the national plan. There is a lot of work to be done between now and the time when that plan needs to come into force, which is two years after the regulation comes into force or least two years for that plan to be produced. There is a series of actions within the national biodiversity action plan, which will be published in the new year, that will account for that. These are things like lining indicators so we can enable data monitoring to take place, data gathering and working with stakeholders so we can acknowledge that a significant body of work needs to happen in terms of doing that. This is the job that the NPWS will undertake in co-ordination with other actors across Government.