Question: You're the new chief executive of English Nature. What is your background and what were you doing before you took over?

Andy Brown: I have a degree in zoology and environmental studies and a doctorate in fresh water ecology. I did some work in West Africa for a few years - lecturing and doing ecological research and then joined the Nature Conservancy Council and actually came up through the ranks. My last job was Director Operations with particular responsibility for all the designated sites in England and before that I was the Chief Officer of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee.

Question: So this must be a dream job then?

Andy Brown: Absolutely. This is something I've always wanted to do and now is my opportunity.

Question: So now you've taken up the post, what are your main priorities?

Andy Brown: There are a number of important challenges ahead of us. Top of the list must be helping DEFRA deliver its public service agreement target for bringing Sites of Special Scientific Interest into a good condition so that their wildlife value doesn't decline over time. They also have an ambitious target to reverse the decline of farmland birds by 2020. This is an indicator of the general health of the whole of the environment. We have a lot of work to help DEFRA deliver both of these targets.

We also have a very big challenge to ensure the true value of the natural environment is properly understood and taken into account as part of England's approach to sustainable development. I think that at the moment a lot of people are underestimating the true significance and value of the natural environment to each of us individually, and to society as a whole.

I was just reading a report from the South East England Development Agency which looked at the value of different sectors of the economy. The environmental sector was huge for the south east - something like £7.8bn and employing 230,000 people. It is clearly really important for tourism, recreation and general well being of the population.

Question: DEFRA is a relatively new government department. How have you found working with them?

Andy Brown: There is certainly a very common agenda between DEFRA and English Nature. This is assisted by the development of the England biodiversity strategy which is a DEFRA strategy which we helped develop. This sets out a broad agenda and has a number of specific targets to deliver.

It is of course early days for the Department. I think they had a horrendous start with the Foot and Mouth crisis but there are very encouraging signs now that the Department are beginning to look more strategically and develop long term plans and get more focused on delivery.

Question: What sort of powers does English Nature have? Is it a quango?

Andy Brown: The strict technical term is that we are a "Non-departmental public body. It basically means that we are funded by the government, but also have a degree of independence. We get a grant every year - for 2003 it is £62m.

We are there to champion nature conservation and to advise and assist government and others to look after nature. We can challenge the government and its policies if we think the policy framework is wrong or inadequate. We have powers to create National Nature Reserves, to designate Sites of Special Scientific Interest, give grants for projects, issue different kinds of licences and generally promote nature conservation and give advice.

Question: What will you be spending this £62m on?

Andy Brown: It's all set out in our corporate plan. We basically divide our work into three main areas.

The first is the protected site network around the country. Around 7 per cent of England has some level of protection for its wildlife or geological interest. Quite a large proportion of our resources go into that. For example we work with land owners and farmers to try and ensure they manage their land in a way that maintains its natural features. We also work with local authorities to make sure that any development proposals do not damage these sites. Some of these sites are also National Nature Reserves. We do a lot of work to improve the access to these reserves for the public, to ensure they can go and enjoy these sites and learn a little bit about nature.

The second area is our work outside those sites. This is where we do lots of creative projects in partnership with others to restore damaged habitats and increase the populations of rare and threatened species. This work extends from the tops of the mountains right down to inner city areas, to the coast and out into the marine environment. We want nature to flourish and people to be able to enjoy and benefit from it.

The third area of our work is essentially influencing policies because whether you are looking at housing, transport or energy, they all impact upon the natural environment. So we work closely with different parts of government to try and encourage the development of policies which minimise impacts on nature.

Question: How would you say English Nature contributes to the quality of life to people in England?

Andy Brown: I think people get all sorts of benefits out of access to nature. A lot of people love to go for a walk in the countryside or in a park in the city. There is quite a lot evidence about how this access to more natural environments actually helps people relax and recover from hectic and stressful lives.

I recently saw some evidence from the United States where they were looking at the recovery rates for patients in hospitals. Those who could see a natural environment from their window, or who could convalesce by walking within hospital grounds, recover a lot faster from major operations.

It is also important not to forget about the educational and inspirational value. School parties love to get out and explore nature sites. I think if you look at the great artists and writers of the past, they've drawn great inspiration from nature.

There are many benefits for society as a whole including the fact that we are all ultimately dependent on the proper functioning of nature for the regulation of our climate, for nitrogen and carbon cycles, creating soil, regulating floods, decomposing organic materials and much more.

Question: You've talked about your relationship with the UK government. Do you work with Brussels as well?

Andy Brown: Brussels has become much more significant environmentally over the last ten years or so. There are some very important environmental objectives which we help the UK government implement. I mentioned earlier the protected areas. About a million hectares is recognised as internationally important through Directives from the EU.

Question: What differences have you noticed between Brussels and the government in the UK?

Andy Brown: I think the picture is as mixed in Brussels as it is domestically. There are parts of the Commission which understand the importance of looking after the natural environment, but there are other parts which actually doesn't understand the issues.

We do work very closely with DG Environment to make sure that the other parts of the Commission gain a fuller understanding and try and shift the agenda so we can ensure economic progress in a way that doesn't constantly erode the natural environment.

It is much the same challenge in Brussels as it is domestically.

Question: Would you agree that the issue of the environment is not that high up the political agenda at present?

Andy Brown: Well Mr Blair did make a very important environmental speech a few weeks ago in which he focussed on the issue of climate change - one of the biggest challenges we all face. Climate change is very real, it's going to have a huge impact on all of us.

So the environment is on the political agenda, even if it isn't as high up as I would like and even if it doesn't always make the front pages of the newspapers.

Question: What issues would you most like the government to address?

Andy Brown: I have two.

The first would be ensuring the delivery of the two public service agreement targets I mentioned earlier - the conservation of a series of protected areas throughout England which are our finest sites for wildlife and geological features, and the other to reverse the decline in farmland birds as this would indicate the general environment is in a healthier state.

The second area is that I'd love to see the government make major progress with is sustainable development. It's a big, complicated agenda but I think everyone signs up to the idea that we want social progress and economic development, but to do this in a way which ensures the natural environment doesn't suffer as a consequence.

I think the government knows how to maintain social and economic progress. But how do you do this and look after the environment at the same time? This is going to be the key challenge and I hope DEFRA can make real progress right across government.