The report of the BES – UK BRAG joint session on ‘The UK Marine and Coastal Act- what does it mean for biodiversity research?‘ has been published online. The session saw speakers from Defra, the JNCC, Marine Biological Association and University of Bangor join participants for a wide-ranging discussion at the University of Leeds, taking place as part of the BES Annual Meeting (6-9 September).

Our speakers, and their topics, were:

Alison Reeves, Deputy Director, Marine Stewardship Team, Defra: An introduction to the Marine and Coastal Access Act
Prof. Mike Kaiser, University of Bangor: Managing Conflicts and Conflict Resolution
Dr Matt Frost, Executive Secretary, Marine Biological Association: Ecosystem Services from the Marine and Coastal Environment

The session was Chaired by Dr John Goold, Marine Director at JNCC.