Biodiversity offsetting is a method intended to help compensate for the detrimental impacts of development on biodiversity. Such an approach is designed to work by creating a credit based market that developers could use to offset actions deemed harmful to the environment by investing in habitat restoration for biodiversity elsewhere.

Today the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) hosted a seminar in Westminster to discuss the scope for implementing biodiversity offsetting in the UK. The talks bought together a number of expert speakers to explore the potential benefits and risks associated with introducing this market-based strategy as a conservation approach.

The discussion aimed to stimulate conversation on the subject of offsets, and further encourage response to DEFRA’s consultation on biodiversity offsetting for the 2011 Natural Environment White Paper which is due to be published this spring.

The seminar was led by presentations from Claire Lewis from the Biodiversity Offsetting Team at DERFA, Dr Jo Treweek of Treweek Environmental Consultants, Prof David Hill from the Environment Bank Ltd, and finally Michael Oxford speaking for the Association of Local Government Ecologists.

DEFRA said that they were not looking to develop a mandatory approach, (which many argue is required), but instead create a voluntary system in which to pilot offsetting following the consultation. Discussion then focused on how to proceed with implementing offsetting, and get it right by ensuring a simple standardised system is in place.

The role of both government (to lay out a national framework), and local authorities (to guide and monitor progress over the long term) was highlighted, as was the need to provide the capacity to do so. To bridge gaps in funding, it was suggested that all associated costs were reflected in the market value of habitat, and that only habitats of a similar value could be traded. It was recommended that restoration areas should be pooled to increase their size, and that these areas should represent an effective network within the UK.

There was discussion about avoiding the risk of providing developers with ‘a license to destroy’, which emphasised the underlying offset principle of ‘no net loss’ and reiterated that offsetting should only be used in cases where no alternative development sites are available, and when detrimental impacts cannot be mitigated on-site. Attention was also given to the fact that it is not possible to re-create all habitat types, and that there will often be a lag time before restoration is complete.

The seminar made clear that there is still a lot of research to be done in terms of valuing and measuring biodiversity appropriately. If we get it right however, offsets could represent a paradigm shift towards tackling issues in conservation by no longer looking at developers as the problem but the solution.

The deadline for applications to take part in the 2011 BES Parliamentary Shadowing Scheme has been extended until Friday 7th February.

The scheme offers a fantastic opportunity for BES members in an early stage of their research career to interact with policy-makers, gaining a greater understanding of how ecological science can inform policy development.

Placements are available at the UK Government (Defra), Welsh Assembly Government and in Brussels. Placements should become available additionally in Scotland.

Further information is available from the BES website.

If you or a scientist you know, would like to learn what it’s like to be a science journalist then why not apply for a British Science Association Media Fellowship? The Media Fellowships are intended to create a greater awareness and understanding of the workings of the media among practising scientists, clinicians, social scientists and engineers.

Application deadline: 1 March 2011

A list of other science communication opportunities is available from the BES website.

Today scientists warned that rising pressures on global resources threaten the future security of the planets food, after the results of the most comprehensive investigation into food security ever were published this morning.

Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir John Beddington emphasised the need for urgent action in response to increasing demands for food today, as the current system is failing. By 2050 the human population is predicted to reach 9 billion individuals, which when combined with climate change and the decreasing availability of land, will seriously increase the pressure on food production.

Over the next 20 years government officials need to work alongside the agricultural industry to increase the efficiency of food production and deliver approximately 40% more food, and 30% more fresh water to meet demands, and ensure future food security.

Governments now face the huge challenge of increasing production efficiency, and reducing pressures such as climate change in order to protect food security for the next generation. Failing to do so however, will mean that many more people are likely to go hungry in the future.

Education Policy Lunchbox this afternoon hosted Pam Tatlow, Chief Exectutive of ‘Million+‘, a university think tank. During a wide-ranging discussion, Pam outlined the recent activities of Million+ and touched upon the challenges which lie ahead for higher education into the future. Million+ is concerned particularly with the ‘post-1992′ group of universities, often called ‘new’ or ‘modern’ universities (former polytechnics which were granted university status at this time).

The most interesting aspect of discussion concerned undergraduate tuition fees. Figures outlined by Pam, from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (established by the Government), show that under Government plans to raise tuition fees from the 2012/13 academic year, Government will need to borrow £13 billion more by 2015/16 than it does at present in order to fund universities and students. At present, 15% of students will have their loans written off after 25 years (under the post-2006 student loans system) – the maximum amount of time available to pay the loans, after which they are cancelled by the state. This is projected to cost taxpayers 27p in the pound in the future. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has estimated the average charge for university courses as £7,500 from 2012/13. Taking this figure, Million+ estimates that 35% of graduates will not repay their loans after 30 years (under the new system students have longer to pay this back). This will cost the taxpayer 31p in the pound. If modelling is based on fees being charged at the maximum rate of £9,000 per annum, Million+ estimate that 55% of students will not repay their loans after 30 years, costing taxpayers 41p in every pound into the future.

Million+ produced a document in late 2010, modelling whether a graduate tax would work as a means to fund higher education, and considering whether such a tax would be more or less ‘progressive’ than the Government’s plans to raise the cap on tuition fees to a maximum of £9,000. The think tank found that a graduate tax of 2% on graduate earnings over £15,000, for a period of 20-25 years would be sufficient to fund universities at a sustainable level. Pam Tatlow was of the view that this tax was more progressive, as the more students earned, the more they would pay, reflecting the true market-value of their qualification, not what a university deems it is worth and can charge to cover their own costs.

The Government is due to release a Higher Education White Paper in late February or early-March, which will make clearer the motivation behind the increase in fees – given that analysis suggests that this model will in fact cost the Treasury more than alternative proposals. Pam suggested that market-creation, opening up higher education to private providers, could be a major impetus, as was increasing students’ control of their own education, as consumers, and that further information could be provided within the Paper. The British Ecological Society will be responding to this when released.

Education Policy Lunchbox is a series of monthly seminars organised by the British Ecological Society, the Biochemical Society and the Society for Experimental Biology. The network was created as a spin-off from Policy Lunchbox, a BES – Biochemical Society partnership which focuses on issues in science policy.

The UK is engaged in ‘the most complex negoitations the world has ever tackled’, as it works with other nations to forge an agreement around how to address dangerous climate change. So said a senior policy adviser from the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) yesterday evening, at an event organised by the All Party Environment Group.

Greg Barker, junior Minister of State at DECC was due to speak but was unfortunately called away on business and so was not able to brief those present on UK climate policy. However, in the course of 30 minutes or so we received a broad overview from a senior official regarding the Cancun negotiations in December 2010, and what the outcome of these might mean for the UK. He descibed Cancun as a ‘relative success’, highlighting progress on reporting and verification of countries’ emissions, reasonable progress on financing, some progress on carbon markets (including the inclusion of Carbon Capture and Storage in the Clean Development Mechanism) and progress around forestry (REDD +). Success was to agree upon this set of issues and to demonstrate that countries can make progress in a multi-year negotiating context, he said. The agreement had laid the foundations and building blocks of an ultimately successful strategy, he commented.

However, the official acknowledged that significant challenges remain for the next round of climate negotiations in Durban, later this year. We are not on a trajectory towards 2 degrees centigrade as yet (a point highlighted strongly on this morning’s Today Programme, highlighting an analysis which showed that we would need a doubling of effort, and then doubling once again to move to a 2 degree path – with the majority of effort needed by developing economies, where climate change is not currently high on the agenda). The negotiations didn’t address ‘who pays and how much, or the legal framework under which reductions in emissions could take place (a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, and which countries take on responsibility, and how much).

The speaker moved on to consider the UK’s contribution to mitigating carbon emissions and highlighted a very recent agreement to co-operate on the development of dedicated ‘low carbon zones’ within China. These will cover 180 million people, whose energy use emits as much greenhouse gas as Germany and Italy combined. The overarching message was that the UK has to get its own house in order, and be seen to do so, before it can expect to influence other nations to tackle their emissions. The UK emits only 2% of the total amount of greenhouse gases which enter the atmosphere. We could reduce our emissions to zero and make hardly a dent – however we will be very strongly affected by the impacts of climate change which result from the actions of other countries. Therefore we must ensure that we influence others to act and must lead by example.

It was disappointing not to hear a comment from Government on adaptation, as well as mitigation. Mitigating climate change – emissions reductions – was the focus of the talk and it would be interesting to hear what actions, if any, the Government is considering to adapt the UK to the climate change we are already committed to because of gases already in the atmosphere. A comment on how changing people’s behaviour could influence climate change would also have been welcome – particularly given that behaviour change is a focus for activity within the Cabinet Office at present, and the focus for the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee.

It was clear that Government expect industry to lead the way in finding innovative technologies, and money, to mitigate emissions. Yet equally important is educating the public and influencing a cultural shift in society, particularly in the context of the ‘Big Society’ agenda, a point which was overlooked.

Half of all fish caught in the North Sea are thrown back dead. This is due to strict fishing quotas set out by the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) that limit the number of fish landed each day. Although these quotas were originally developed with the intention to help conserve fish stocks, they are in fact doing the exact opposite and forcing fishermen to throw back thousands of dead fish, known as discard, every day.

The problem occurs because in a mixed fishery, where species other than the target fish live, non-target species get caught along with the desired catch, and are then later thrown back over-board dead. This is not only a waste of food but has absolutely no benefit to conservation.

In response, the Big Fish Fight kicked off on Channel 4 this month. The campaign aims to lobby change in EU fisheries policy in order to make fishing more sustainable, as well as encourage the public to diversify their eating habits, and increase supermarket sourcing awareness.

The high profile campaign is fronted by celebrity chefs including Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal who have been showcasing sustainable seafood recipes to the public. The campaign is also supported by conservation NGO’s such as WWF and the Marine Conservation Society, who are working to develop solutions to help make the CFP work for fish, fishermen and consumers alike.

The Big Fish Fight has already received tremendous public support, with over half a million people signing up in favor of the CFP reform in 2012. To join the fight and find out more sign up at http://www.fishfight.net

Climate change is cited as one of the major future threats to biodiversity conservation and ecosystem function. As a result, the need to adapt practical conservation measures to cope with the pressures of a changing climate have become increasingly relevant when making policy decisions.

To address this issue, The BES joined forces with Natural England to organise a conference titled ‘Adapting conservation to a changing climate’. The conference was held last week at The BES in London from the 11th-12th January 2011, and represented an exciting opportunity to explore how conservation can assist adaptation to, and mitigation of climate change in the UK.

The conference joined researchers, policy-makers and practitioners to review the current research findings, and provide a forum for inter-disciplinary debate. UK and international representatives from leading organisations including Natural England, DEFRA, and a number of top universities were invited to speak on the topic, and encourage further discussion of the best ways forward.

A combination of presentations, posters, and workshops highlighted the increasing importance of climate change as a driver of biodiversity decline and ecosystem service loss. A large scale, ecosystem based approach to conservation was suggested for integration into land use planning and management to help mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change. The creation of more, bigger, better and joined reserves was also discussed, and the social, political, and economic obstacles to this debated.

The two day event was well received by audiences and has helped provide a solid foundation for stepping up the pace when it comes to climate change by creating clear guidelines for future action. A report summarising the outcome of the conference will be published in due course.

The Campaign for Science and Engineering yesterday celebrated 25 years since the founding of the organisation, then called ‘Save British Science’. Figures from science journalism and policy assembled at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Savoy Place, to congratulate CaSE and to hear speeches from a number of founders of CaSE, and David Willetts, Science Minister in the UK Government.

Imran Khan, CaSE Director, congratulated Mr Willetts on securing a benign settlement for science in the Comprehensive Spending Review. Representing a ‘flat cash’ settlement, or a 10% cut in ‘real terms’, given inflation, the settlement is widely recognised as the best outcome for science given the context in which the settlement was secured – with large budget cuts across Government. However, Imran highlighted once again to Mr Willetts that other countries have chosen to invest in their science base as a means of lifting themselves out of recession, whist the UK has in effect cut revenue to science, engineering and technology.

There is no doubt that CaSE deserves congratulations for its role in lobbying Government in the run up to the CSR, and for the central role that the organisation played in the ‘Science is Vital‘ campaign, which secured 30,000 signatures in favour of an increase in science funding under the CSR. During the reception, CaSE displayed a number of slides illustrating hopes and aspirations for the science base in 2036, 25 years from now. Their next priority is to lobby and influence the UK Government to develop a long-term, fifteen year, framework for science and engineering, aiming to make at least some of these aspirations a reality.

Find out more about the Campaign for Science and Engineering through the CaSE website and blog.

The decline of the stag beetle – which is the UK’s largest beetle, has been cause for concern among conservationists. Until now monitoring the population numbers of this elusive invertebrate have been problematic. However, a team of ecologists from Royal Holloway, University of London and the University of York have discovered that ginger may hold the key. The research was part-funded by a grant from the BES.

Dr Deborah Harvey and her colleagues trialled a number of odours including strawberries and even beer in order to help lure stag beetles into traps, but found ginger to be the most effective bait. The use of ginger to catch adult stag beetles has also been combined with using tiny underground microphones to detect larvae in order to get an accurate estimate of population size.

These new sampling methods “offer genuine promise for monitoring the population” said Dr Harvey, as they will help conservation efforts towards stag beetles by allowing scientists to identify where they are living and how many of them remain.

For more information see the recent Press Release on the BES website.