News release
The British Ecological Society calls for greater funding for ecological research and sets out a research agenda for the next 25 years.
Ecological research has a key role to play in developing a more resilient, sustainable, and equitable future in which nature and people thrive.
The British Ecological Society’s (BES) Future of Ecological Research in the UK policy report brings together voices from across the diverse ecological community to outline the priorities for ecological research over the next 25 years.
In the report, ecological researchers and practitioners outline five broad priorities for ecological research in the UK for the coming decades. Our vision for the future of ecology will be essential in shaping research enquiry, funding, and discussion, in the face of the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.
The five priority areas are:
- Novel Futures
- Living Laboratories
- Dynamic Ecological Systems
- Wholescapes
- Frontiers of Discovery
Two landmark reports
Launched in conjunction with a report on The Trends in UK Funding for Ecology, these two landmark reports reveal that ecological sciences are losing out on funding compared to other sciences.
At a time when an ecological understanding of the world has never been more pivotal to the future of humanity and all life on Earth, these findings paint a troubling future.
The British Ecological Society, therefore, urges UKRI and other funding bodies to increase the amount of funding they provide to ecology to give people and nature the ability to fight back against the threats of climate change and biodiversity loss.
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