A new report published yesterday calls for radical changes in world farming, to avoid food shortages and serious ecological effects. The International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), led by Professor Robert Watson, Chief Scientist at DEFRA, states that governments focus too narrowly on increasing food production, with little regard for natural resources or food security. 400 scientists from 40 countries worked on the report, the first of its kind to involve governments, industry and NGOs from rich and poor nations.

Science and technology should be targeted towards raining yields but also protecting soils, water and forests. Professor Watson commented that “incentives for science to address the issues that matter to the poor are weak”. Professor Watson yesterday also commented that GM technology as currently practised does not offer the solution to food shortages, but can contribute in part. The authors also warned that the global rush to biofuels was not sustainable, with biofuels contributing to deforestation and degradation of land and soils.

See full article in the Guardian: Change in farming can feed world – report, 15 April 2008

Today sees the introduction of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) in the UK. All petrol and diesel which is sold at UK pumps must now include at least 2.5% biofuels. The target will rise to 5% by 2010.

The RTFO aims to make transport ‘greener’, by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) produced by road transport: this at present contributes to more than a quarter of the UK’s GHG emissions.

The introduction of the RTFO has had a mixed reaction, with many concerned about the environmental impact of the production of biofuels. Cultivation of palm oil, the world’s biggest biofuel crop, has led to the destrution of large tracts of rainforest in Malaysia and Indonesia, whilst other concerns surround the fertilisers and machinery used to grow and harvest these crops, reducing the benefit of using them.

The Government claim that introducing biofuels into UK fuels gradually over the next few years will help to provide a market for sustainably produced biofuels. The RTFO contains an obligation for suppliers of biofuels to report on their practices; leading to ‘naming and shaming’ of unsustainable practices.

Read two contrasting views on the RTFO from Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Transport and Peter Ainsworth, Shadow EFRA Secretary, at the Guardian’s website: 14 April 2008

A deal between two environmental organisations could provide a blueprint for investment to conserve the world’s vital ecosystem services. Canopy Capital, an environmental investment and development company, has struck a deal with Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development which owns a one million acre area of rainforest in Guyana. Canopy Capital will pay Iwokrama for the ecosystem services generated by the rainforest, including those supporting and regulating services which are often viewed as unquantifiable, such as water storage and climate regulation.

In return for its investment, Canopy Capital will receive a percentage of any income that might one day be made by the rainforest’s ecosystem services. The company hopes that the services will one day become tradeable commodities. Once the organisation has re-couped its investment, 80% of further profits will go back to the reserve to allow Iwokrama to carry out its activities.

The results of a new study could help to explain why populations of bees and other pollinators are in decline. Research published in the journal ‘Atmospheric Environment’ suggests that the scent of flowers in polluted environments travels less far, with the scents then less likely to be detected by pollinators and the plants less likely to be fertilised.

Scent particles easily bind to chemical pollutants from car exhausts and chimneys, such as ozone and nitrates. These reactions destroy the fragrance close to the source. In today’s polluted environment, the scent of flowers downwind from big cities may travel only 200- 300 metres, compared to up to 1,200 metres in less polluted conditions.

Original story in the Guardian, 14 April 2008.

An article in this week’s THS claims that implementation of the Research Excellence Framework (REF), the successor to the RAE, is to be delayed by a year to allow a comprehensive pilot to be run. HEFCE originally intended to introduce the new system for assessing science subjects, through the use of metrics, in 2009, following a pilot this year alongside RAE2008. HEFCE seem to have responded to the criticism, in numerous responses to the consultation earlier this year, that the timetable was too tight.

The system was to be phased in between 2010 and 2014, with the peer-review system for assessment of non-science subjects to begin in 2013.

A final decision had not been made when the THS went to press.

Link to original article in the Times Higher Education Supplement, 10 April 2008

The results of a ten-year study into species conservation in Madagascar, published in this week’s Science, could act as a blue print for future areas to conserve species richness in biodiversity ‘hot spots’.

An international team of researchers, including scientists from the Natural History Museum, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the University of York, built up a vast library of information across a wide range of species whilst in Madagascar. Specially designed software was used to work out the range of each species and how to devise the optimum way of saving them from extinction. Conservation planning has traditionally focused on protecting one species or group of species at a time. This is the first time that such a detailed database over such a broad range of species and such a wide area of land has been developed.

Madagascar has a very high level of endemism and species richness but faces massive threats. Only 10% of its original forested habitat remains. The results of the research will form the basis of the Malagasy government’s plans to triple the area of protected land in Madagascar, extending existing networks of protected species.

Aligning Conservation Priorities Across Taxa in Madagascar with High-Resolution Planning Tools. C. Kremen et al. Science 11 April 2008.

A new review, showcased on the EU DG Environment website, explores the different EU strategies for capturing carbon in soils. Research has previous indicated that 60-70 million tonnes of CO2-eq could be captured in soils.

Carbon can be trapped in the soil by the activities of bacteria, fungi and earthworms and the conversion of organic matter to humus – which remains in the soil, preventing the release of CO2. Spreading biodegradeable waste, such as sewage and crop residues, on to agricultural land, can also contribute to carbon capture. This practice could contribute 2 – 20 million tonnes of CO2-eq per year to soil carbon capture, given differences in soil and climate.

A crucial factor in the capacity of this practice to contribute to carbon capture is the quality of the waste spread on the land. An initiative under the EU Waste Framework Directive aims to define quality standards for this.

DG Environment is working to develop a ‘Life Cycle Thinking’ approach to managing waste – examining the total impact of the use of products and services on the environment, from extraction to manufacturing to recycling and eventual disposal. The aim is to avoid shifting environmental impacts from one component of the cycle to another or onto different environmental systems. Find out more about Life Cycle Thinking here.

Source Article at website of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment

Pavan Sukhdev, Managing Director and Head of Global Markets at Deutsche Bank AG, London, has been appointed to lead the on-going EU review into the economics of biodiversity loss. The aim of the project is to determine the economic cost of worldwide biodiversity loss, in the same way that the Stern Review showed the incontrovertible cost of ‘business as usual’ models of action to address climate change.

Alongside his role at Deutsche Bank, Pavan Sukhdev is also director of the Green Accounting for Indian States Project, a study on the economic significance of biodiversity in India.

The preliminary results of the EU study will be presented to the 9th Conference of the Parties on the Convention on Biological Diversity in Bonn in May this year.

Original press release

Welsh ministers are considering introducing a targeted badger cull. Elin Jones, rural affairs minister, has called for a review of the current policy, given that the incidence of TB in cattle has increased in recent years.

A report published last year by the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB set up to evaluate the evidence of badger culling pilot schemes concluded that although there was evidence to suggest that badgers are a significant source of TB for cattle, badger culling could make no meaningful contribution to the eradication of the disease. There has as yet been no announcement from Wales as to the scale of the cull proposed.

The BES invites members to comment on this topic.

Talks were held on Tuesday 8th April at the Zoological Society of London, from scientific and industrial perspectives regarding the issue of conserving biodiversity within a climate of growth in the palm oil industry. Palm oil is grown widely in south-east Asia with the majority of exports coming from Malaysia and Indonesia. Palm oil is used in a range of different products from food additives, lubricants and cosmetics through to biofuels. The implications of the palm oil industry were discussed by Ben Phalan, a PhD student from Cambridge, Brian Dyer, LONSUM and Dr. Tom Maddox, ZSL:

Ben Phalan’s research into how oil palm plantations affect biodiversity has highlighted that:

• species richness is significantly lower in palm oil plantations than indigenous rainforest
• habitat specialists have declined in palm oil plantations whilst habitat generalists, non-forest species and species that feed on oil palm crops have done well
• there is a much greater loss of forest and native species in palm oil plantations
• detectability issues of many species mean that actual species loss may be higher than thought

Ben has also identified areaas where further research is required:

• no published papers so far on the impacts of water pollution
• the value of fragmented forests is unknown
• the extent of bioaccumulation resulting from the use of rodenticides
• the impact of pesticide usage on plantations

Brian Dyer is the managing director of operations for LONSUM, a company that grows and processes palm products in Indonesia. Brian:

• claimed that “demand pull” rather than “consumer push” was the major driver of the palm oil industry and that offshore markets are the major consumer of palm oil
• pointed out that there is a strong legislative framework that companies involved in the industry must abide by, (though it should be noted that more effective enforcement of legislation is required)
• infomed the audience there are few NGOs in the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)

Finally Dr Tom Maddox spoke about his research into the compatibility of oil palm and conservation stating that:

• despite the wealth of knowledge indicating the harmful effects of palm oil plantations, there is a lack of knowledge into how to conserve species and areas of high conservation value alongside plantations
• also noted a lack of enforcement of laws, and also that government is “woefully under represented” in the RSPO
• increasing the strength of the economy is a priority of governments, and the palm oil industry is a huge source of revenue
• areas within plantations could be developed for biodiversity, such as wildlife corridors between habitat fragments
• increasing yields within existing plantations would mean that ’small holders’ aren’t incentivised to clear more forest

An RSPO accreditation system is seen as a possible way forward in identifying ’sustainable’ palm oil companies, or at least those that work to reduce their impact on biodiversity. Providing financial incentives to companies to retain forests is a possible option.