The new Director of the Living with Environmental Change (LWEC) initiative has been announced as Professor Andrew Watkinson, currently Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia. Professor Watkinson’s appointment is initially for five years, in which time the office of Director of LWEC will be based at UEA. He will take up post in September.

Commenting on his appointment, Professor Watkinson said; “Society is facing a range of challenges including climate change, population growth, globalisation and technological change. What I hope is that LWEC will play a vital part in securing the future wellbeing of the people and economy of the UK by providing the evidence base to inform policy debate and people’s choices. I have no doubt that leading this partnership will itself be very challenging, but I am eager to start driving it forward.”

Professor Watkinson is an active member of the British Ecological Society and has previously been a recipient of the Marsh Award for Ecology by the BES, bestowed for an outstanding discovery or development which has had a significant impact on the development of the science of ecology or its application.

A report released by the Joint Committee on the Marine Bill says that the funding is inadequate and the provisional powers allocated of the representative bodies of the Marine Bill are insufficient.

Lord Greenway, of the Joint Committee, says that the bill must “commit the secretary of state to take action” rather than just “enable change” to take place.

The report recognises recommendations made by the British Ecological Society (BES) and its members, in recommending that the creation of marine reserves be ‘underpinned by [sound] science.’ And Natasha Barker, senior marine policy officer at the WWF echoed the BES response saying that the MMO must have majority responsibility in planning offshore renewable and energy projects. The report also expresses concern over how the Government plans to enlist the support of the devolved administrations – essential for making the bill work.

Whilst the draft Marine Bill may have shortcomings and areas for improvement, it is an incredibly important and essential piece of legislation for the whole of the UK. Therefore it is essential that the government takes on board the recommendations from the report and of the relevant stakeholders, ensuring that the key marine conservation measures are implemented – a central aim of the Marine Bill.

The Joint Committee’s findings can be read here:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt200708/jtselect/jtmarine/159/159i.pdf

Defra have launched an enquiry to investigate what is the best method of sustainably managing England’s wildlife.

Up until recently, the government has had a piecemeal approach to nature conservation, with only certain species and habitats being afforded protection. This philosophy is to be superceded by Defra’s recent holistic approach to Nature conservation. Defra has therefore decided to launch a more comprehensive strategy to conserve wildlife in England, and will shortly be consulting on this strategy.

The new approach aims to be more strategic, and will look at how wildlife impacts on people vice versa. One of the key components of the strategy is taking a decision-tree approach, to provide a mechanism for policy review and development. The hope is this approach will create a structured framework so that a consistent approach to wildlife conservation is used across the board, whilst allowing scope for flexibility within the framework.

The consultation document can be found here:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/wildlife-manage-strategy/consultation.pdf

The closing date for responses is 22nd September 2008.

An 800-acre site in Sandbridge, St. Albans, has been designated for the largest afforestation project of its kind in the UK.

The plans, set-out by the Woodland Trust would involve the plantation of 600,000 native trees, and could be realised within 12 years.

Much of Britain’s natural and semi-natural woodland has been lost since the 1930s, accelerated by the advent of the Green Revolution after the Second World War.

The government is beginning to show an increased awareness of the importance of our natural environment, with the recent announcement by Hilary Benn, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, that Defra will commit £500,000 over two years to perform an Ecosystem Assessment for England. This hopefully indicates a move to an overarching ‘ecosystems approach.’

To donate to the project click here.

New research published in the journal ‘Ecological Applications’ explores the environmental and social consequences of an expansion in the cultivation of sugarcane for bioethanol in Brazil. The amount of land used for sugarcane growth in Brazil is predicted to rise to 14 million hectares by 2016; a doubling of the current amount of land under cultivation for this purpose. Brazil could produce up to 44 billion litres of ethanol from this extent of sugarcane growth.

The production of ethanol from sugarcane in Brazil is predicted to have severe environmental consequences if sugarcane displaces other crops, such as soya, pushing them northwards. There will also be increased constraints on the availability of grazing land, leading to encroachment into the rainforests by ranchers and farmers. A host of other environmental concerns, such as increased soil erosion, siltation in rivers and de-oxygenation of water courses due to the waste water from sugarcane processing are also highlighted.

Conditions for those harvesting the crop are poor, with little legislation protecting the rights of the low-paid migrant workers operating under gang-leaders to work the land. An expansion of sugarcane production without accompanying attention to the rights of these workers could lead to yet more of the Brazilian people suffering within this industry.

The researchers say that major changes are needed if the expansion of ethanol from sugarcane is to proceed sustainably. First among their recommendations is the need for environmental impact assessments on the risks of expansion to new areas. They also call for a more constructive approach from international stakeholders to provide sustainable development incentives in countries where biofuel production is likely to increase.

Martinelli, L. and Filoso, S. (2008). Expansion of sugarcane ethanol production in Brazil: environmental and social challenges. Ecological Applications. 18(4): 885-898.

Defra has announced that they will be launching a Millennium Ecosystem Assessment for England. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) was founded in 2001 by an independent collection of over a thousand specialist scientists, to investigate the state of the world’s ecosystems in relation to human well-being, and continually monitor changes to our natural environment. An ecosystems approach is strongly supported by the MA, that is, a valuation of our natural ‘capital’ in social, economic and environmental terms.

The MA is broadly a project of global scope, however Defra propose to develop something along the lines of an inventory and ongoing assessment for England’s natural resources. Defra has pledged to give £500,000 over a two year period to fund the assessment. Hilary Benn made the following statement at his first keynote speech on the environment at the Barnes Wetland Centre:

“This project will give us a clearer picture of our natural resources than ever before. It will show us just how much we benefit from our natural environment. And in turn it will provide a springboard for further action to protect and enhance our natural heritage.”

The Convention on Biological Diversity have devised a means of applying the ecosystems approach, using the following guidelines:

1. Focus on the relationships and processes within ecosystems: we must strive to accelerate research into the benefits of functional biodiversity, whilst continuing to manage ecosystems in the absence of such knowledge
2. Enhance benefit-sharing: maintain and restore ecosystem function for human well-being
3. Use adaptive management practices: there must be flexibility in the type of management implemented; considering social and cultural factors affecting natural resources use, as well as flexibility in policy-making and implementation
4. Carry out management actions at the scale appropriate for the issue being addressed, with decentralization to lowest level, as appropriate: management should occur at the stakeholder level where appropriate, supported by policy and legislative frameworks
5. Ensure intersectoral cooperation: the formation of inter-ministerial bodies within government or enhanced networking capability to facilitate better communication at all levels

Further details can be found on the Defra and CBD websites.

To read the Rt. Hon. Hilary Benn’s full speech go to:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/ministers/speeches/hilary-benn/hb080721.htm

The Government has today launched a new website to bring together the details of all Government initiatives on adapting the UK to climate change. This “online information hub” will “help people identify the challenges we will face in the future and to make the decisions now that will help us to manage them”. The site is targeted at businesses, planners, organisations and individuals and aims to allow all these audiences to:

• Find out more about how the climate is changing and what this could mean for the UK;
• Read about what the Government is doing to prepare for the impacts of climate change;
• Find out more about information tools available to all to enable all to take action, including case studies and the work of the UK Climate Impacts Programme.

The UK’s Minister for Climate Change, Biodiversity and Waste, Joan Ruddock MP, launched the website, stating that: “Our climate is changing. We need to future proof our buildings and public spaces against this as much as possible. Even nature itself will need help to adapt to climate change if we are not to lose precious biodiversity.” She called on designers and builders to learn from these innovators and build a consideration of future climate conditions into new facilities and public spaces.

Visit the new website at www.defra.gov.uk/adaptation

Newton’s Apple, the independent science policy think-tank, has announced a date for its next workshop aimed at educating scientists about the policy-making process. The workshop is part of the ‘Newton’s Heirs’ initiative, which promotes the exchange of information between scientists and policy-makers through workshops, consultations and other activities.

“An Introduction to Science Policy” will take place in Westminster, London, on 8 October. The workshop is open to all scientists, from undergraduate level and beyond, and provides an opportunity to hear presentations from panellists in the policy field, along with a chance for discussion on how the science -policy interface works and can be improved.

Places are limited. To find out more contact Newton’s Apple.

Following an initial scoping study earlier this year, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP) has now launched a formal call for evidence to its inquiry into ‘Adapting the UK to Climate Change’.

The focus of the study is on whether the UK has the institutional capacity and arrangements necessary to adapt to changes in the natural environment brought about by climate change. The Commission is inviting evidence in response to a number of questions, accessible on the Commission’s website, focused around:

• Biodiversity, nature conservation and protected area
• Sea-level and coastal zones
• Freshwater

Responses are required by 10 October 2008 at the latest.

For further information about the inquiry, contact Dr Jon Freeman at the RCEP.

To contribute to the BES’s response to the inquiry, please contact the BES Science Policy Team as soon as possible.

Today marks the launch of the new Defra Initiative: “UK Environmental Observation Framework,” aimed at helping researchers access information about a whole range of monitoring activities that are ongoing.

Researchers often remark that there is too little coordination between monitoring efforts – this being an issue highlighted at the recent BES-Defra workshop on Modeling Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity. The new initiative looks as though it will contribute to addressing this problem.

The launch was marked by presentations from chief scientific advisor Professor Bob Watson, Alan Thorpe the chief executive of NERC, Professor Maggie Gill, Chief Scientific Adviser, RERAD, Scottish Government and Doug Wilson, Head of Monitoring Assessment, Environment Agency.

The Environmental Research Funder’s Forum (ERFF) outline the theme of the initiative with the following summary:

“[ERFF aim to] articulate a vision and a high-level plan to define and resolve UK environmental monitoring issues, so improving our ability to understand the natural environment and address current and future environmental policy priorities for economic benefit and quality of life.”

If you are interested in getting involved in the monitoring programme or find out more about it please contact Beth Greenaway: bethg@erff.org.uk