Category Archives: Development
Planning for 'No Net Loss' of Biodiversity
A briefing note published by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology this week (POSTnote 429) is critical of the quality of information, local authority decision-making, monitoring and research concerning the incorporation of biodiversity into planning decisions in England. Despite … Continue reading
Sandy’s trying to telling us something
With ‘Sandy’ raging for all she’s worth across the pond, flooding the streets of New York and making the headlines for the all the wrong reasons; we should remind ourselves of the increasing frequency at which extreme weather events have … Continue reading
Science has an important role to play to tackle food insecurity in a changing climate
The input of research scientists will be essential in addressing the issue of food insecurity in the face of a rapidly changing climate. This is the message from a new article produced by members of the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture … Continue reading
Planning for a Healthy Natural Environment
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) when launched earlier this year was welcomed cautiously by environmental NGOs. The final content was widely acknowledged as an improvement on previous iterations, with guidance to local authorities clear that the pillars of sustainable … Continue reading
BES President Professor Georgina Mace talks to PLoS about Rio+20 and progress in the ‘limits to growth’ debate
BES President Professor Georgina Mace yesterday talked to the Public Library of Science’s (PLoS) Biology Podcast about the upcoming challenges faced at the Rio+20 talks, and considered whether recent papers on environmental limits to population growth show progress in this … Continue reading
New Members Wanted for Defra Darwin Committee
Defra is looking for eight new members for its Darwin Expert Committee. This is a Committee made up of independent experts which advises Ministers on funding proposals received under its Darwin Initiative. They are particularly seeking individuals who have good … Continue reading
Westminster debate: Rio+20 and the future of sustainable development on the International Day of Biodiversity
An All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Development & the Environment (APPG IDE) meeting was held today in Westminster to discuss challenges facing policy-makers ahead of the UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June this year. The APPG IDE … Continue reading
Allowing Humanity to Flourish in a Crowded World
The Royal Society yesterday published ‘People and the Planet‘, a report which marks the end of nearly two years of work by a group including both the British Ecological Society’s current President, Professor Georgina Mace FRS and a past-President of … Continue reading
Government to Publish National Planning Policy Framework
The Government will this afternoon publish the long-awaited National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which will simplify over 1,000 pages of planning guidance into just 50 pages and set out a ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ that will apply across … Continue reading
Navigating the Perfect Storm: the international challenge of food, water and energy security
In 2009, Professor John Beddington, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government, used the term ‘perfect storm’ to describe the critical combination of food shortages, water scarcity and insufficient energy resources facing the world’s population, predicting these would come to a … Continue reading