Author Archives: Policy_Team
Sustainable Solutions to Global Environmental Change
On 8-9 April 2013 the British Ecological Society (BES) and the York Environmental Sustainability Institute (YESI) will be hosting a major international scientific meeting, Global Change and Biosphere Interactions , as part of our centenary and celebrating the launch of … Continue reading
OPAL: a citizen science gem
Citizen science is nothing new, with many projects across the world using data collected in this way. Growing interest means that even the large corporates like HSBC are getting stuck in. Engaging people in the natural world is not too … Continue reading
Bees and neonicotinoid pesticides: acute risks identified by EU’s food safety authority
Bees are vital parts of our ecosystems in the UK, providing irreplaceable pollinator services for both crops and wildflowers. Worrying declines in the number of bee populations have been observed recently, and have been attributed to a number of causes … Continue reading
2012: the second wettest year on record
In the UK, 2012 was the year of water. Across all seasons, periods of heavy rain dominated, with flooding events seen across the country on a number of occasions. The release of the Met Office’s 2012 records last week has … Continue reading
What do we do now: outcomes of UN Climate Change Summit, Doha
The UN Summit on Climate Change has been convened in Doha, Qatar, since 26th November with aims to forge a new strategy to tackle climate change. The Summit was set to finish Saturday 8th December but with frustrations running high … Continue reading
Ash Dieback: Control Plan and Interim Task Force report published
A new strategy to tackle Ash dieback has been published today alongside the Tree and Plant Health Task Force’s interim report. Environment Secretary Owen Paterson announced today. The Chalara Control Plan sets out the Government’s objectives for tackling the disease … Continue reading
CSaP: Bridging the Gap Between Science and Policy
Where the relationship between scientists and policy-makers works, it is due to the existence of strong networks, but this relationship fails more often than it succeeds. This was one of the conclusions of a 2008 report from the Council for … Continue reading
Do we need more scientists in policy? An initial resounding 'yes' becomes a more complex debate
With 96% of respondents to a Twitter poll voting ‘Yes’, it looked like last night’s debate ‘Do we need more scientists in Parliament?’ was going to be a foregone conclusion. However, the event, the first in the new PolicyLates series … Continue reading
Tackling Tree Disease in the UK
It isn’t simply Ash Dieback that’s threatening the forests and woodlands of the UK. A plethora of pests and pathogens are on the horizon, with the numbers of diseases afflicting our trees having increased markedly over the past twenty years. … Continue reading
Checking the Progress of Government on the Natural Environment
The Government could try harder on the natural environment. That was the conclusion of ‘Nature Check 2012′, an overview of the Government’s progress against the commitments made in the Coalition Agreement, launched by Wildlife and Countryside Link, and endorsed by … Continue reading