Policy briefs

The spread and appearance of new diseases are a perennial threat to the UK’s native flora and fauna. However, understanding and monitoring of disease across native species is generally poor when compared to agricultural and forestry species. Therefore, this workshop aimed to gather information to investigate how lessons from monitoring and understanding disease in some taxa can be used to improve work on other species groups.

Mae blaenoriaethau Cymdeithas Ecolegol Prydain yng Nghymru ar gyfer 2024-2025 yn canolbwyntio ar bolisïau a deddfwriaeth sydd â’r nod o amddiffyn a gwella bioamrywiaeth, newid defnydd tir, ansawdd dŵr a’r amgylchedd morol.
Mae polisïau amgylcheddol yn effeithio’n ddwys ar fioamrywiaeth yng Nghymru.
Mae’n hanfodol fod y polisi hwn wedi’i danategu gan dystiolaeth ecolegol gadarn.
Dyma y mae gwneuthurwyr polisi yn awyddus i’w gyflawni a dyma sut gallwch chi helpu.

BES priorities in Wales for 2024-2025 focus on policy and legislation aimed at protecting and enhancing biodiversity, changing land use, water quality and the marine environment.
Environmental policy has profound consequences for biodiversity in Wales.
That this policy is underpinned by robust ecological evidence is vital.
This is what policy makers want and this is how you can help.

In November 2023 the BES convened a workshop of almost 40 experts and policymakers to explore actions for monitoring and improving both fresh water quality and biodiversity. The report identifies priority actions for restoring freshwater biodiversity which include reducing pollution from agriculture, wastewater, and other sources; enhancing freshwater habitat connectivity; a more comprehensive approach monitoring; and an update to aquatic biodiversity indicators.

The British Ecological Society – Scottish Policy Group (BES-SPG) organised an in person Pie and a Pint policy roundtable on October 6^th 2023 to discuss how to prioritise the scale of conservation approaches required to tackle direct and indirect drivers of biodiversity loss.

The Scottish Policy Group’s expert workshop on riparian woodlands brought together 25 ecologists, practitioners and policy makers to consider some key questions around riparian woodlands. Download the report for more information.

The Welsh Policy Group (WPG) and Vincent Wildlife Trust (VWT) hosted a joint in-person policy training on 26 April in Devil’s Bridge. In the morning we covered the basics of Welsh environmental policy, followed by the policies that cover species conservation and translocations, and the importance of stakeholder engagement. In the afternoon, experts from the VWT led an outdoor pine marten tracking and spoor identification exercise.

This report summarises the day’s discussion and activities.

The English Policy Group’s inaugural People, Policy & Planet event in London brought together 45 ecologists, practitioners and policy makers to debate how we can balance wildlife conservation with public access to nature. Read the event blog here or download the report for more information.

The inaugural Caffi Ecology event was hosted by the Welsh Policy Group in March 2023 and brought experts from across the research, consultancy, policy and practitioner communities together to discuss Net Benefits for Biodiversity.

This report summarises the talks and discussion at the event.