Minister for Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs Andrew Muir has reappointed three members of the Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside (CNCC).
John Martin, Noel Rice and Rosemary Thomas will all now have a second term of one year on the council.
The CNCC is a statutory advisory body which provides advice and guidance to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) on matters relating to nature conservation and the countryside.
The council’s advice covers Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Special Scientific Interest and nature reserves.
The CNCC also provides guidance on the protection of wildlife species and on promotional and educational activities.
Council
John Martin has volunteered and worked in the environment and conservation sector in Northern Ireland and beyond for over 16 years.
He was previously head of policy and advocacy with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in Northern Ireland and is now the director of the Woodland Trust in Northern Ireland.
Noel Rice served 34 years in the NI Housing Executive (NIHE) working initially on land use planning, land acquisition and disposal and programme planning.
For the latter 20 years of his career, he was NIHE’s energy conservation manager.
Following his early retirement in 2016, Noel worked in the Belfast Hills Partnership, an environmental charity that strives to protect the wildlife and improve the biodiversity of the hills.
Rosemary Thomas studied geography followed by town and country planning at Queen’s University, Belfast.
She spent the majority of her working life in the public sector in Wales, in both local and central government.
Commenting on the reappointments, Minister Muir said: “The knowledge, skills and experience of the CNCC members in matters relating to the natural environment and the countryside is essential to CNCC’s important work”.
