Policy briefs

In November 2023 the BES convened a workshop of almost 40 experts and policymakers to explore actions for monitoring and improving both fresh water quality and biodiversity. The report identifies priority actions for restoring freshwater biodiversity which include reducing pollution from agriculture, wastewater, and other sources; enhancing freshwater habitat connectivity; a more comprehensive approach monitoring; and an update to aquatic biodiversity indicators.

The British Ecological Society – Scottish Policy Group (BES-SPG) organised an in person Pie and a Pint policy roundtable on October 6^th 2023 to discuss how to prioritise the scale of conservation approaches required to tackle direct and indirect drivers of biodiversity loss.

The Scottish Policy Group’s expert workshop on riparian woodlands brought together 25 ecologists, practitioners and policy makers to consider some key questions around riparian woodlands. Download the report for more information.

The Welsh Policy Group (WPG) and Vincent Wildlife Trust (VWT) hosted a joint in-person policy training on 26 April in Devil’s Bridge. In the morning we covered the basics of Welsh environmental policy, followed by the policies that cover species conservation and translocations, and the importance of stakeholder engagement. In the afternoon, experts from the VWT led an outdoor pine marten tracking and spoor identification exercise.

This report summarises the day’s discussion and activities.

The English Policy Group’s inaugural People, Policy & Planet event in London brought together 45 ecologists, practitioners and policy makers to debate how we can balance wildlife conservation with public access to nature. Read the event blog here or download the report for more information.

The inaugural Caffi Ecology event was hosted by the Welsh Policy Group in March 2023 and brought experts from across the research, consultancy, policy and practitioner communities together to discuss Net Benefits for Biodiversity.

This report summarises the talks and discussion at the event.

This ‘Pie and a Pint‘ (PAAP) was hosted by the BES-SPG and CIEEM explored some key questions on National Parks in Scotland.

This discussion summary is from the event held in October 2022.

2021 has been dubbed the ‘super’ year for nature, but what does this mean for science policy in Scotland? 

This virtual two-part ‘Pie and a Pint‘ (PAAP) series hosted by the BES-SPG and CIEEM will aims to explore what ‘COP’ is, the effect it has on the science policy interface in Scotland and how it will be implemented in practice. 

This event report is for part one which as held in September 2021.

The Scottish Policy Group (SPG) and the Scottish Research and Policy Exchange (SPRE) held an online policy training event on the 22nd of September with the aim of Demystifying Policy and this is a summary of the event. Find out more in the event report.