Category Archives: Defra
National Trust commence Badger TB vaccination programme
The announcement of a badger TB vaccination trial on the National Trust’s Killerton Estate has been welcomed by both farmers and local environmental groups. The four year programme which will commence this May aims to show that vaccination is a … Continue reading
Defra release statistics on public attitudes and knowledge about the environment
Last week the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) released the results of an investigation into public attitudes and knowledge relating to biodiversity and the natural environment. The results of the study reflect the answers given by 1,769 … Continue reading
The true cost of nitrogen pollution
The European Nitrogen Assessment (ENA), a major new investigation, today released its findings revealing the environmental and economic cost of nitrogen pollution in Europe. The ENA, conducted by over 200 international experts, estimated that nitrogen pollution is already costing Europeans … Continue reading
Government make U-turn on the sale of the Public Forest Estate
On Thursday 17th February 2011 it was announced that the consultation into the future ownership and management of England’s Public Forest Estate will be halted, and that and all forestry clauses in the Public Bodies Bill will be scrapped. In … Continue reading
Making Space for Nature – with the Conservation SIG
The British Ecological Society’s Conservation Ecology Special Interest Group (SIG) is organising a meeting on 19th April 2011, exploring the implications of Prof. Sir John Lawton’s review of England’s protected areas (‘Making Space for Nature‘). The meeting will consider the … Continue reading
Selling England’s forests: A cut too far?
At present, England’s forests are managed by the Forestry Commission on behalf of the Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. Ministers however, are now proposing to reform ownership and management of the estate by selling off large … Continue reading
Biodiversity offsetting: making nature economically visible
Biodiversity offsetting is a method intended to help compensate for the detrimental impacts of development on biodiversity. Such an approach is designed to work by creating a credit based market that developers could use to offset actions deemed harmful to … Continue reading
Deadline for BES Shadowing Scheme Extended Until 7th February
The deadline for applications to take part in the 2011 BES Parliamentary Shadowing Scheme has been extended until Friday 7th February. The scheme offers a fantastic opportunity for BES members in an early stage of their research career to interact … Continue reading
‘Adapting conservation to a changing climate’ conference makes headway at the BES
Climate change is cited as one of the major future threats to biodiversity conservation and ecosystem function. As a result, the need to adapt practical conservation measures to cope with the pressures of a changing climate have become increasingly relevant … Continue reading
Budget allocations announced for DEFRA, UK research councils and HEFCE
This afternoon government departments have published details of their budget allocations for 2011-2015. This follows on from higher-level budgets allocated in the Treasury’s Comprehensive Spending Review published in November. DEFRA has outlined the annual expenditure for each of its Arm’s … Continue reading