http://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/blog/2011/08/09/ieem-publish-report-on-ecological-skills-gap/ Advancing ecology and making it count Mon, 20 May 2013 14:42:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/blog/2011/08/09/ieem-publish-report-on-ecological-skills-gap/#comment-3866 BES publishes report of our ‘Making Space for Nature’ meeting Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:58:34 +0000 http://britishecologicalsociety.org/blog/?p=2146#comment-3866 [...] communicating with decision-makers is an area in which the skills of ecologists is lacking, according to a recent report by the IEEM. The report also highlights discussion at the workshop around possible tensions between a [...]

]]> http://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/blog/2011/08/09/ieem-publish-report-on-ecological-skills-gap/#comment-3865 Ecology and Policy Blog » Blog Archive » BES publishes report of our ‘Making Space for Nature’ meeting Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:07:05 +0000 http://britishecologicalsociety.org/blog/?p=2146#comment-3865 [...] communicating with decision-makers is an area in which the skills of ecologists is lacking, according to a recent report by the IEEM. The report also highlights discussion at the workshop around possible tensions between a [...]

]]> http://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/blog/2011/08/09/ieem-publish-report-on-ecological-skills-gap/#comment-3864 Dave Hubble Wed, 10 Aug 2011 08:46:28 +0000 http://britishecologicalsociety.org/blog/?p=2146#comment-3864 Timely post about a timely report. The skills gap is unsurprising given that so many ecologists are involved in surveying only those species required in planning applications. Not only do we need to ensure a wider range of species identification, survey and conservation/habitat-mangaement skills are developed, but there needs to be funding available so that professional ecologists can then be paid to use these skills. At present, it is very difficult to obtain funding to undertake a detailed species survey, especially when it is not attached to a proposed development. This has been the case for some time but has got worse since recent cuts were expected and then announced – suddenly, local authorities (for example) who were interested in having wildlife sites surveyed no longer have the money to pay for it. Seeking funds externally through small grants is equally difficult as they tend to focus on community-involvement projects and are unwilling to fund professional expertise even though this is required for detailed work and less popular species groups – not everything can, or should, be done by volunteers, however committed. The upshot is that in many cases, the only paid work available is that which relates to planning applications and so only the legal minimum of species etc are covered. If we want a sustainable skills base, then we need to make sure that if the skills gaps that are identified are filled by training, they will then provide income for ecologists. We may not get into ecology for the money, but we do need to make a living.

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