Nature Recovery Committee

Dr. Jane Smart currently leads IUCN’s newly established Centre for Science and Data, aiming to increase the uptake and impact of data products based on IUCN standards in support of IUCN’s Mission, including The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and working to define and measure “Nature-Positive”. Prior to that, she led IUCN’s Biodiversity Conservation Group (including the Species, Protected Areas and World Heritage Programmes) as well as IUCN’s work to influence the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework to be adopted at CBD COP15 in December 2022. She is based in the David Attenborough Building in Cambridge, UK.

Jane began her career carrying out research into the restoration of peatlands with the former Nature Conservancy Council at the University of Sheffield. She became the first Chief Executive of Plantlife International, following a period with the London Wildlife Trust and the Greater London Council. Before joining the IUCN Secretariat, Jane was Chair of the IUCN UK National Committee. In 2003, she was awarded the OBE for services to international conservation. 

In January 2023, Jane will finish her work with the IUCN Secretariat. She will be based in Malham in the Yorkshire Dales where she intends to spend time more walking and enjoying nature.

Jane is a Professor of Ecology at the University of York, and University Research Champion in ‘Environmental Sustainability & Resilience’. I research the impacts of climate and habitat change on species (particularly butterflies), with the aim of developing effective conservation management and policy interventions for enhancing biodiversity in the Anthropocene.

“I am keen to contribute to the development of conservation strategies and ensure they are informed by the best scientific evidence. Of particular relevance to the Nature Recovery Committee, my research has highlighted the importance of landscape-scale approaches to conservation, the effectiveness of Protected Area networks for conserving species under climate change, and the role of habitat connectivity.”

Ian Rotherham is Emeritus Professor at the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University and a lifelong member of YWT. He set up, and for ten years directed the Sheffield City Council ecological advisory unit, was a long-standing member of the YWT South Yorkshire Regional Committee, and established the ‘Sheffield Wildlife Action Partnership’ with YWT which raised around one million pounds for conservation in Sheffield.

Ian is an ecologist / invasion biologist / environmental historian with interests in woodlands, peatlands and grasslands – management and restoration and particularly links to landscape heritage and archaeology. He also works on wildlife and heritage tourism and regional economics.

Ian works with grassroots conservation groups across the country, writes extensively for popular media along with working for both radio and television. 

 

Simon has lived in Yorkshire since the age of seven, but is constantly reminded by his wife Jill that he was born just south of the Trent and therefore cannot claim to be Yorkshire-born! Despite this circumstance of birth, he considers himself a committed Yorkshireman and has been a member of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust for almost 40 years. Simon’s deep passion for wildlife and the countryside started early and led to a career in landscape design, and the realisation that in order to deliver true wildlife value, working on a large landscape-scale achieved more. Such an opportunity existed by working in partnership with the mineral extraction industry in North Yorkshire. This resulted in him founding the Lower Ure Conservation Trust, the creation of Nosterfield Nature Reserve and formation of the wider Swale and Ure Washlands Project partnership. Simon was awarded an MBE for Services to Nature Conservation in North Yorkshire in 2006.

Central to Simon’s interest is the value of learning from history – if we understand the natural habits which existed in the past in our landscape, it gives a broad guide to the landscape which could naturally be recreated and in doing so enrich wildlife and peoples’ lives. As a former President of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union, he has had the great pleasure of working alongside many fine ecologists and looks forward to working more closely with the YWT to create a valuable vision for Yorkshire’s Nature Recovery.

 

Nabil has worked in nature conservation for over 20 years, the majority of this time in South and West Yorkshire and the Peak District. Having started his career as a Wildlife Trust trainee, he has been fortunate to work in a number of roles in three different Wildlife Trusts.

Nabil currently work as the Project Manager for the Skell Valley Project, delivering a landscape scale partnership project in North Yorkshire, co-led by Nidderdale AONB and the National Trust. 

In his spare time he enjoys walking, growing things and exploring Yorkshire’s wonderful wild places.

Suzannah currently works for the RSPB, managing the Curlew LIFE project. Whilst she has a life-long passion for nature, her career has only recently moved into conservation. She has been a history academic, worked a signal box on the Sheffield-Manchester railway, provided face-to-face advice on housing and benefits with Citizens Advice, and latterly held senior leadership roles as Head of Implementation ad Head of Sustainability with GB Railfreight.

She brings experience in partnership working, facilitation and mentoring to the Trustee role, as well as an understanding of TCFD, TNFD and Biodiversity Net Gain from a business perspective. Through Curlew LIFE she has gained experience and understanding working with farmers and statutory agencies, and a great appreciation for the complexities of conservation in working landscapes.