The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology is recruiting for a new Director.

POST ensures that Parliament and parliamentarians are supported with impartial, balanced and accessible analysis and assessment of scientific and technological issues related to public policy.

The Head of POST must have a broad background and experience in science or science policy, combined with the ability to maintain and develop links at senior level within the science community. In addition, they must be capable of maintaining scrupulous impartiality and objectivity, in order to lead the office effectively on behalf of Parliament.

The closing date is 8th February 2012.

According to a recent study by Cambridge University researchers, CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is too high to allow the onset of a potentially overdue ice age. The period between the end of an ice age and the beginning of the next is typically about 11,000 years due to natural cycles related to the Earth’s orbit. The last ice age ended 11,600 years ago and researchers estimate that glacial inception, an early sign of the onset of an ice age, should start in the near future. However, an ice age would only be able to begin if the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere were to fall, from current levels of approximately 390 ppm, to roughly 240ppm or lower.

The Global Warming Policy Foundation said the study demonstrated that man-made carbon dioxide emissions were preventing a “global disaster”. The think tank, set up by Lord Lawson, cited a theory proposed by Sir Fred Hoyle and Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe in 1999 which said we “must look to a sustained greenhouse effect to maintain the present advantageous world climate.”

Dr Luke Skinner, who led the recent study, told the BBC such an argument would be “missing the point” that man-made climate change will heat the planet much more than current temperatures, and that failing to slow the rate of carbon emissions could have “huge consequences.”

The BES and the Royal Entomological Society are organising a joint meeting to explore the benefits of long-term monitoring and what it call tell us about the state of farmland in the UK.

You can now register your interest in attending this event, which will take place at the headquarters of the BES, Charles Darwin House, on 12th October 2011. Registration costs £15.00.

Further information

In 2010, ‘the year of biodiversity’, the value of long-term monitoring in prioritising global biodiversity targets was flagged up both in the academic literature and the wider press. Long-term monitoring is a well established feature of agro-ecology and there are a number of meticulously maintained data-sets which focus on a wide-range taxa, revealing much about the state of farmland today.

This meeting aims to bring together key people in the organisations which carry out this monitoring to explore:
• What long-term monitoring tells us about the state of farmland in 2011.
• How we can use the data to address issues of declining biodiversity.
• The future of long-term monitoring in a challenging economic climate.

This week a report detailing the risks of overseas impacts of climate change for the UK economy was released as a first step towards a UK Climate Change Risk Assessment. On examining the evidence the Government Office for Science and Foresight Programme team led by Chief Scientific Advisor Professor Sir John Beddington found that climate change overseas will most likely be just as important for the UK as the direct impacts of climate change on the UK.

A key threat resulting from overseas climate change is the risk of international instability resulting from water stress, food shortages and extreme weather events. Climate change is likely to have the greatest effect in developing countries. Pressures on ecosystem services are also likely to be more serious in developing countries due to high rates of land use change and deforestation. If the UK cannot respond to these challenges there is an increased risk of states failing, higher levels of terrorism and an increased probability of war. In the future the UK government can expect increased pressure on the aid budget and allocation to the UN peacekeeping budget

Changes in disease prevalence and intensity could also result from increased temperature, water shortages and extreme weather events such as flooding. This could place extra stresses on the UK health aid budget. Certain infectious diseases may also spread across Northern Europe from Southern Europe and Africa which may present a novel challenge for healthcare in the UK.

The report also details possible adverse impacts of overseas climate change on business. According to the report UK businesses have over £1.2 trillion worth of overseas assets which are not currently properly protected and insured against climate risks. The UK economy is also highly dependent on overseas resources and infrastructure for food production, energy, extraction of raw materials. In addition the UK communications industry is highly reliant on countries with high probability of extreme weather events for communications infrastructure.

An important point stressed throughout the report is that climate change does not act alone, and the combined effects of climate change, ecosystem service degradation and resource scarcity must be considered by policy makers at all stages.

International leadership will be crucial in adapting to and managing these threats. The Government is already showing leadership in reducing and mitigating the impacts of climate change by signing a legally binding commitment to reduce emissions by 50% of 1990 levels by 2025. The government have also shown commitment to reducing biodiversity loss and ecosystem service degradation in the recent Natural Environment White Paper. Detailed monitoring will be needed to ensure the government meets it’s commitments. Close cooperation both internationally and between business and government within the UK will also be vital to success in this area.

Another crucial step for the government is to promote behavioural change in the UK. By raising awareness of climate impacts overseas and the risks this poses to quality of life and security in the UK the government can highlight the need for action.

Although climate change is a long term and uncertain phenomenon there is no doubt that the above challenges will arise in one form or another. Uncertainty only surrounds how severe the challenges will be and how fast they will arise. The new report draws attention to the global effects of climate change impacts on other countries and the need for urgent action to plan for and mitigate future challenges.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) today highlighted fears for England’s natural beauty spots. The charity claims that a relaxation of government planning policy in favor of UK growth and development will threaten the future integrity of England’s Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB’s).

Proposals for nuclear power plants, motor-ways, housing developments, mining and onshore wind farms are all at present going through planning, and are expected to degrade AONB’s if accepted. These include well knows beauty spots that are regarded as both highly important for native biodiversity conservation and outdoor recreation such as Kent Downs and the Cotswold AONB.

One such application is that of ‘High Speed 2’ – a newly proposed railway to connect London and the Midlands. The new line however infringes on the Chiltern hills AONB and an ancient woodland reserve in Park Hall, making the development a controversial subject.

The Localism Bill, including decisions to relax planning, has reached Committee stage and will be discussed by the House of Lords tomorrow. The publication of a new National Planning Policy Framework detailing future plans is expected later this month.

The ThinkBIG report, which was released this week, is designed to provide information for local authorities, land managers, farmers and communities as to how they can contribute to the move towards landscape scale conservation outline in the Natural Environment White Paper, which was released earlier this month. ThinkBIG was written jointly by the statutory bodies, NGOs, land owners and farming communities that make up the England Biodiversity Group. The report in support of the move towards landscape scale conservation and ecosystem approach outlined in the recent Natural Environment White Paper provides advice on how to implement these ideas by reviewing case studies of landscape scale conservation and highlighting the lessons learned.

Maintaining and repairing ecosystems needs to be the focus of environmental projects and planning if ecosystem services are to continue benefiting the economy and society. Every sector of society and the economy has a role to play in landscape scale conservation, no matter how small their contribution is perceived to be.

The report gives some excellent examples of how landscape scale conservation can work in practice, demonstrating how each situation is different and requires a slightly different solution. Some of the most interesting and varied include:

Moors for the Future – This is a moorland restoration project in the Peak District and South Pennines, delivering a variety of ecosystem services such as erosion regulation and water regulation, and improving biodiversity of ground nesting birds and plants.

The Victoria Business Improvement District – This is a business led partnership to improve prospects for local wildlife, businesses and communities by expanding and enhancing green infrastructure. The project has reduced pollution, carbon dioxide emissions and flooding whilst simultaneously supporting invertebrate diversity and several bird species.

Cambourne New Town – Landscape scale conservation can also be included in new development projects such as Cambourne New Town which was built on agricultural land in Cambridgeshire. Careful planning has ensured that local residents are able to benefit from being reconnected with nature, whilst creation of new habitats has re-introduced several species that were once extinct in the area.

Although uniform guidelines to implement this sort of project would be hard to construct the report emphasises several fundamental components that must be in place for projects to be successful. These include accurate information on the current state of the environment, partnership and co-ordination between stakeholders and those involved in implementing the project, incentives and regulations, sensible strategies at the appropriate level, and conflict management. Connected and enhanced wildlife sites which are effectively protected and buffered from human activity are most likely to be successful. The success of many of the initiatives outlined in the Natural Environment White Paper will depend on the extent to which these general principles are adhered to.

The document is intended to provide background and supporting information for local authorities, land managers, farmers and communities, and highlights what different groups of people can start doing now to achieve the aims set out in Lawton’s review of protected areas ‘Making Space for Nature’, and the Natural Environment White Paper, including supporting the work of local conservation charities, managing farmland and woodland more sustainably and collaborating with others within local and national government to help ensure the success of environmental projects.

A staggering 1060 new species have been discovered over the past ten years on the pacific island of New Guinea according to a new report by WWF. Around 260 new species of vertebrate, 580 species of invertebrates and 220 new species of plants were discovered during the course of the study which was carried out between 1998 and 2008. The report titled ‘Final Frontier: Newly discovered species of New Guinea (1998 – 2008)’ forms part of WWFs 50th anniversary celebrations drawing attention to the loss of biodiversity.

Approximately two species were discovered per week throughout the study. Many new species of mammal were discovered including a new species of dolphin, a group in which new discoveries are very rare. Many new species of birds, amphibians and insects were also discovered. The study serves as a reminder of the undiscovered diversity of earth. Dr Mark Wright, conservation science adviser at WWF, said “The world is full of fantastic and fantastical creatures, of quirky and improbable lifestyles. The more we look, the more we find. But this exuberance of nature is under threat. Despite the best efforts of groups like WWF, it is clear that we will not save all we would like to.”

The island of New Guinea has an area of only 0.5% of the earth’s landmass but it has been estimated that it contains around 6 to 8% of global species, and remains relatively understudied despite this fact. The country also has extraordinarily high levels of endemic species. However the forest ecosystems of New Guinea are under threat from deforestation cause by rapid development and conversion of land to agriculture, particularly for the production of palm oil. 99 of New Guinea’s vertebrate species are on the IUCN red list of threatened species. It has been predicted that forest cover could be reduced to just 50% of its original area by over the next 10 years. Mangroves and coral reefs are also at risk from development in costal regions.

It is hoped that Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation and certification of sustainable palm oil through the Roundtable on Sustainable palm oil could provide a solution to some of the problems both people and nature are facing in the country.

Following the results of the consultation on the Green Paper on a Common Strategic Framework for future EU Research and Innovation Funding it has become clear that many researchers in ecology have been left feeling that biodiversity research is falling off the radar.

The Green Paper, published in February this year was designed to spark debate about research funding to inform the Horizon 2020 strategy which will replace the Framework Programme for research, the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme, and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology after the next EU budget in 2013.
Evidence was gathered in five main areas:
1. Working together to deliver on Europe 2020
2. Tackling societal challenges
3. Strengthening competitiveness
4. Strengthening Europe’s science base and the European Research Area
5. Public debate and further steps

Despite biodiversity loss being a major societal challenge it was not mentioned at all in the Green Paper, and there was no mention of funding research to help meet the 2020 biodiversity targets. This was noted by a variety of organisations including the French government, Defra, NERC and WWF Europe. Many were dismayed that biodiversity research had been omitted when biodiversity loss is such a pressing issue with a great deal of public interest.

Several organisations emphasised the need for biodiversity and ecosystem related research to be one of the main research priorities for the EU, as large scale projects with international collaboration are needed. The European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures noted that long term investment by the EU is needed for novel technologies (such as remote sensing) to monitor biodiversity, as well as investment in technology to utilise the massive quantities of environmental data that are accumulating.

Despite the omission of biodiversity loss from the Green Paper there were some indications in the European Commission’s initial analysis that they intend to develop an international collaboration strategy which will be valuable for the field of biodiversity research.

Concerns that biodiversity is falling off the radar have been reflected in the recent failure of EU member states to endorse the 20 concrete measures proposed by the EU executive to implement the six headline targets that will allow the 2020 biodiversity target to be achieved. Some countries including Denmark and Italy have refused to endorse the six headline targets because of the perceived high financial cost of protecting biodiversity. Many of the member states said they require more time to consider the measures and emphasised the need to learn from the mistakes of the 2010 targets, which failed mainly because the EU never really agreed on how best to achieve the goals and how to finance them.

Public interest in biodiversity issues may also be declining. Googletrends has shown that the number of times the word biodiversity has been searched has declined from 2004 to the present day, whilst searches for ecosystem services continue to increase.

Whether biodiversity research gets the funding it needs from the European Commission in Horizon 2020 remains to be seen.

Yesterday the BES policy team attended the IEEM summer conference on biodiversity and the Big Society. The conference was centred around four main themes;
- What will localism mean for the environment and biodiversity?
- How will measures to protect the environment be funded?
- How can we reconnect people with the environment and encourage volunteering?
- What will our landscape look like in the future?

Richard Benyon, Minister for Natural Environment and Fisheries, opened the conference speaking about the recent Natural Environment White Paper, the Government’s vision for the future of our landscapes, and how localism fits in with this vision. Whilst localism may be able to help deliver some of the visions of the recent White Paper it is clear that many questions remain, and that there are funding and communication barriers which need to be overcome. These barriers were discussed in detail by Mike Oxford and Adam Wallace who identified the key challenges facing ecologists.

Past experience has shown that financial support and good infrastructure is vital for the Big Society approach to work. However government departments, local authorities and communities are increasingly being asked to do more with less, and dramatic cuts to the budgets of environmental projects in government have instigated debate around how environmental projects might be funded now, and in the future.

Nick Perks from the Environmental Funders Network reviewed the relative role of government funding and philanthropy in sponsoring environmental projects, suggesting that it is unrealistic to assume philanthropic funding can fill the gaps left by the cuts, as government funding is so important for environmental projects. Polluter pays schemes are one suggestion for attracting more money towards environmental projects, however Nick indicated that this is likely to be unpopular with business and developers and therefore politically unfeasible.

In local authorities cuts to the budget of biodiversity teams have been more severe than in other areas. Ensuring that Ecology is better recognised as a profession was the main theme of Penny Anderson’s (IEEM President) talk, in order to protect the role of professional ecologists within local authorities and to ensure the importance of preserving the natural environment is recognised.

Reconnecting local people with nature is one of the key messages of the recent Natural Environment White Paper, and one area in which there already appears to be a great deal of success. Matt Davies from Greenspace Information for Greater London gave an interesting talk about engaging local people in biodiversity data recording through Bioblitz initiatives, an intensive session of biodiversity data recording over a 24 hour period designed to reconnect people with nature and encourage dialogue between local people and experts. The Alexandra Palace Bioblitz attracted over 8000 volunteers and was featured on the BBC programme Springwatch demonstrating the level of public enthusiasm that exists.

Catherine Chatters from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust also reported a great deal of success in engaging volunteers from a variety of backgrounds including local schools and businesses in the New Forest non native plants project. Volunteers were able to make a significant contribution to the health of their local rivers and marshes through coordinated action to efficiently remove and prevent the spread of a range of invasive species including Giant Hogweed and Himalayan Balsam. However she stressed the importance of adequate funding for the success of the project, emphasising that professional leadership is vital for supporting and enthusing volunteers in their work and to gain cooperation from local landowners and retailers which stock the invasive plants.

Local Authorities are also taking greater interests in the needs of local people and the Beam Parklands case study presented by Paul Johnson, Director of Environmental Consulting at Arup, showed that through effective consultation with local communities a landscape can be created that delivers multiple benefits including biodiversity conservation and enhancement, educational opportunities for young people, and recreational space. Local people were involved in every stage of the project which transformed neglected wetlands into a valuable community space, teeming with wildlife.

The final talk of the day by the Landscape Architect Merrick Denton-Thompson OBE presented a vision of the future land use, extrapolating current trends to 2050, and examining challenges and opportunities for the environment. In the controversial talk, which initiated debate in the audience Merrick suggested that food shortages will play the key role in shaping landscapes of the future, and as the wealth of other countries increases the UK will have to become self sufficient. He also indicated that all landscapes will have to deliver multiple benefits (food production, carbon sequestration, energy, biodiversity conservation), and there would be strict penalties for non-compliance.

Overall the conference was an interesting and useful experience, with lively debate over localism, the funding challenge and communication.

This week Defra released the highly anticipated Natural Environment White Paper titled ‘The Natural Choice: Securing the Value of Nature’, outlining Government’s vision for the future of landscapes and ecosystem services. The paper emphasises that although we know the environment provides many irreplaceable and valuable services we have been unsustainably exploiting natural capital for many years, leading to biodiversity loss and degradation. Plans for action to halt and reverse the decline in biodiversity and ecosystem services are described.

In a Defra press release following the launch of the White Paper Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said “The true value of nature should be built in to the decisions we make – as individuals, organisations, businesses and governments – so that we become the first generation to leave the environment in a better condition than we found it.”

One of the key plans is to create 12 new Nature Improvement Areas (NIAs), designed to fulfil many of the goals of Lawton’s ‘Ecological Restoration Zones’, and help wildlife adapt to climate change. A competition will be set up to determine the site of the 12 initial Nature Improvement Areas, and Local Nature Partnerships (LNPs) will be invited to enter their area. So far £7.5 million has been pledged to fund these Nature Improvement Areas. However the Lawton Review ‘Making Space For Nature’ estimated the cost of restoring damage already done to the natural environment at around £0.6 to £1.1 billion.

The Government also plan to use the imminent reforms of the planning system to achieve environmental objectives, and improve ecological networks. Planners will be encouraged to put the natural environment at the heart of all decision making. Reforms to the planning system will include introducing voluntary use of biodiversity offsets in some areas, with a view to broadening these pilot schemes over time.

Another key element of the paper is plans to reconnect local people, particularly children, with nature, by creating a new Local Green Area designation to protect green spaces of particular importance to communities, and removing barriers preventing teaching outdoors. Communities will be supported to volunteer to protect their local wildlife areas.

A new independent committee (The Natural Capital Committee) will be established to advise the Government on the state of natural capital in the UK. Following the release of the UK National Ecosystem Assessment natural capital will be included in the UK Environmental Accounts.

Businesses will be expected to take greater action to protect the environment, and the Government have proposed to investigate potential ways to expand markets in which ecosystem service providers are paid by the users of the service.

The government have also pledged to influence policy in the EU and internationally by showing leadership and ensuring that there are ambitious environmental commitments included in the reformed Common Agricultural Policy and Common Fisheries Policy. £25 million will be donated to the Darwin initiatives fund to help ecosystem and development projects, reducing poverty worldwide. Initiatives to reduce climate change will also continue to be supported through £2.9 billion of funds which will distributed to projects such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation.

In general the White Paper received a positive response from conservation organisations. The director of conservation at the RSPB Martin Harper said “Nature Improvement Areas are about looking at conservation on a joined up, landscape scale, instead of a series of patchwork measures dotted across our landscape. It’s fantastic to see the Government promoting this idea.” At the Wildlife Trusts Paul Wilkinson, Head of Living Landscapes said “How this White Paper is implemented and adopted by all Government departments will be critical. There is a vital need to ensure it influences the current policy reforms around planning, development and growth.” All emphasised that they would be willing to work with the government to ensure that the ambitious plans are carried out.