Category Archives: Economics
Government Office for Science: roles, responsibilities and programmes
Government Office for Science: roles, responsibilities and programmes It was all change at the top of evidence based policy in Government this month, with Sir Mark Walport replacing Sir John Beddington as Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA). This role is … Continue reading
Assessing the impacts of ash dieback
Spring is almost upon us, and early signs of budburst mean that trees will soon be in leaf. Warmer temperatures and leafing trees will both have implications for ash dieback, the disease found last year in ash trees in the … Continue reading
Business and the environment: Ecosystems Market Task Force release final report
The value of the environment for business is often underestimated. Although the business world uses natural services and products for operations, it does not always understand its true reliance on nature and the need to value it correctly. Overcoming this … Continue reading
UK’s Natural Capital Committee beginning to take shape
Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman last week announced the appointment of five members to the recently formed independent Natural Capital Committee. The members are experts in the fields of natural science and economics, with a considerable range of specialist knowledge and … Continue reading
Economists and Ecologists brought together by issues of sustainable agriculture in an NCI workshop yesterday
A workshop which brought together economists and ecologists, and organised by the Natural Capital Initiative, took place yesterday at Charles Darwin House. The aim of the event was to facilitate conversation between experts of the two disciplines to discuss how … 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
Environmental organisations react to the Chancellor’s 2012 Budget
The Chancellor George Osborne yesterday announced the UK’s new budget for 2012. With the Government’s election pledge to be ‘the greenest government ever’, environmental groups were anxious to see whether the proposed financial measures for the coming year would reflect … Continue reading
Ecosystem service valuation to involve local communities in Scotland
Communities in Scotland could be encouraged to use a newly developed ‘toolkit’ to assign values to the local ecosystem services they depend on. A summary report published by the Highland Council reveals plans for two initial pilot studies in the … Continue reading
Natural Capital/ Ecosystem Services for Business: New Collaboration Opportunities
Tuesday 13th March 2012 The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) 1 Carlton House Terrace, London Business has been put at the centre of the stage to deliver the sustainable economy that the Government pledges to provide in the … Continue reading
Valuing Ecosystems: Policy, Economic & Management Interactions – April 2012
SAC & SEPA BIENNIAL CONFERENCE (in association with Forest Research, the James Hutton Institute and Scottish Natural Heritage) 3-4 April 2012, Edinburgh Integrated management of our agricultural and forestry landscapes is essential to the delivery of multiple ecosystem services. However, … Continue reading