Category Archives: Sustainability

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

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New UK Biodiversity Science Committee Formed

On 19 September 2012, the inaugural meeting of the UK Biodiversity Science Committee (UK BSC), formed partly as a result of discussion at a meeting hosted by the BES in November 2011, was held at the Royal Society. The UK … Continue reading

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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

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Doing More with Less for the Natural Environment in 2012

Yesterday the BES Policy Team attended ‘Natural Environment 2012′, a conference in central London to explore the Natural Environment White Paper (NEWP) and the actions that have taken place to implement this since its launch in 2011. Delegates were drawn … Continue reading

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Where is the water coming from that cause current sea-level rise?

Sea-level rise is a well-studied climate change phenomenon. General explanation is that thermal expansion of water and water from melting ice caps and glaciers are responsible for the rise. Global sea-level rose about 1.8 millimetres every year in the last … Continue reading

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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

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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

Posted in Climate Change, Conservation, Development, Economics, Economy, Ecosystem Services, Education, Energy, Environment, Food Security, Government, Green Technology, International, Land use, Population Growth, Research, Sustainability | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Rio + 20 ‘must succeed’: scientists can help make sure it does

The final day of the Planet under Pressure conference finished with a call for scientists to engage with the Rio +20 summit and beyond, defining through science the economic, social and environmental consequences of policy decisions. Interdisciplinary research, robust and … Continue reading

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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

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Materials from WWF ‘Navigating the Perfect Storm’ event available

Presentation slides, audio and video recordings, photos and links from the joint WWF-UK and Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) event ‘Navigating the Perfect Storm’ last month have been made available online. The evening was chaired by Professor John Beddington, Chief … Continue reading

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