Wildlife and Countryside Link (Link) brings together voluntary organisations in the UK to protect and enhance wildlife, landscape and the marine environment and to further the quiet enjoyment and appreciation of the countryside. Link currently has 49 members who collectively employ 9,600 full-time staff, have the help of 170,000 volunteers and the support of over 8 million people in the UK. Members are united by their common interest in the conservation and enjoyment of the natural and historic environment.
Aims
Link aims to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of the environmental voluntary sector through collaboration. By bringing members together on policy areas of interest to them, it provides a forum to develop a collective view on national and international issues affecting wildlife and the countryside, to exchange information, and to work together to develop policies to influence domestic and relevant EU and international policies. By working together, Link can provide its members with a stronger single voice to effect policy change.
Activities
Information Management
Link provides an information management service helping members to share resources and intelligence. By acting as a hub through which information can be exchanged, Link enables members to network with other organisations with similar interests and keeps them informed of developments across a range of topics.
Coalition Building
Link facilitates collaborative work between members by helping to distil a clear common message on important issues and communicate it effectively to key decision makers. As an independent forum, priorities can be agreed and joint positions on environmental issues can be developed. Link acts as an 'honest broker' where members may have different views about particular issues and it helps members to synchronise public campaigns to achieve maximum impact.
Structure
Governance
Link is run by a small professional Secretariat that is overseen by a Management Committee of senior representatives elected from the membership. The Link Secretariat co-ordinates groups of experts in Working Groups and Task Forces, and facilitates coalition working through these groups with the help of elected Chairs and Vice-Chairs.
Link has three honorary Vice-Presidents appointed from the three main parliamentary parties, on whose support Link calls when engaging in parliamentary activity. The current Vice-President is Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer.
Link is a registered charity number 1107460 and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales number 3889519.
Members
As of November 2018, 49 groups were members of Link:
A Rocha UK
ALERC
Amphibian and Reptile Conservation
Badger Trust
Bat Conservation Trust
British Ecological Society
Born Free Foundation
British Canoeing
British Mountaineering Council
Buglife - The Invertebrate Conservation Trust
Butterfly Conservation
Campaign for National Parks
Campaign to Protect Rural England
ClientEarth
Council for British Archaeology
Earth Watch Institute
Environmental Investigation Agency
Four Paws UK
Forest Stewardship Council
Freshwater Biological Association
Freshwater Habitats Trust (formerly Pond Conservation) Friends of the Earth Greenpeace Hawk and Owl Trust Humane Society International/UK Institute of Fisheries Management International Fund for Animal Welfare The Mammal Society Marine Conservation Society MARINElife National Trust Open Spaces Society ORCA People's Trust for Endangered Species Plantlife Ramblers The Rivers Trust (formerly the Association of Rivers Trusts) Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Salmon and Trout Association Shark Trust UFAW Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust The Wildlife Trusts Woodland Trust World Society for the Protection of Animals World Wide Fund for Nature Zoological Society of London
Joint Links
Wildlife and Countryside Link is based in London and focuses its efforts on influencing Westminster and Whitehall. There are other Links in each of the devolved administrations: