HUB CORE ACTIVITIES

National Environment Framework (NEF)

A living Wales – a new framework for our environment, our countryside and our seas.
Demands on the environment are increasing because of climate change, human activity and other factors. Until now we have usually looked at parts of the environment separately. This means we have underestimated the importance of the environment in our lives. Our new Natural Environment Framework (NEF) focuses on managing our environment as a whole rather than focusing on separate parts.
There are currently five workstreams.

Building the evidence base
Valuing ecosystems
Refreshing regulatory and management approaches
Refreshing partnership mechanisms
Refreshing institutional arrangements.

• (NEF) Evidence Listing –The Hub regularly updates the Natural Environment Framework evidence base literature listing

           NEF EVIDENCE BASE LITERATURE.v8

• NEF Programme Leads contact detail

 

Wales Chapter National Ecosystem Assessment

The Hub has completed the process of editing the final draft of the National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA) Wales Chapter.

The UK National Ecosystem Assessment (UK NEA) is the first analysis of the UK’s natural environment in terms of the benefits it provides to society and continuing economic prosperity. 

Part of the Living With Environmental Change (LWEC) initiative it is an inclusive process involving many government, academic, NGO and private sector institutions.

Final Wales NEA Chapter submitted 15/07/11

Ecosystem Services Conference Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff  

21st -23rd June 2011. (WERH hosted final day of the Bangor and Aberystwyth Universities Biosciences, Environment and Agriculture Alliance (BEAA) conference)

BEAA Pan Wales Conference on Ecosystem Services

Millennium Centre Cardiff   21st 22nd and 23rd June 2011

21 st June 2011  BEAA Annual Conference

22nd June 2011 Pan-Wales Ecosystems Services Conference

23rd June 2011 Putting the Ecosystem Approach into Practice in Wales

Catchment Research Mapping – To assist with research planning and prioritisation the Hub is mapping catchment/landscape scale research initiatives in Wales for publication on the WERH website.

Current Funding Opportunities identified by WERH  -   Funding Opportunities from the main research funding bodies updated daily

Highlights

Flood Management Research in England and Wales

Defra’s Flood Management Division funds a joint R&D programme with the Environment Agency to support flood and coastal erosion risk management within England and Wales. Following a programme review in 2004, the R&D programme is now managed through four themes:

• Strategy and Policy Development
• Modelling and Risk
• Sustainable Asset Management
• Incident Management andCommunity Engagement

Each theme has a Theme Manager and Theme Champion who will be supported by a Theme Advisory Group (TAG) made up of end-user representatives. Further details of the programme are available from:http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/flooding/research/index.htm

Closing Date:02 September 2011

Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)

Biodiversity & Ecosystem Service Sustainability (BESS) research programme

Biodiversity & Ecosystem Service Sustainability (BESS) is a planned five year research programme, which aims to contribute to our understanding of the functional role of biodiversity in key ecosystem processes.

Biodiversity underpins ecosystem goods and services through the functional role it plays within ecosystems. There is increasing concern that the ongoing loss of biodiversity may compromise the provision of ecosystem goods and services in the near future.

The BESS programme will define the scientific basis of the linkages between biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and the delivery of ecosystem services; allow prediction of how these linkages will respond to future change scenarios; develop new tools and indicators that are fit-for-purpose for tracking biodiversity stocks and the flows of services from those stocks, so that they can be managed within sustainable bounds.

Closing date for Expression of Interest: 19 July 2011

Closing date for Full Proposals: 14 September 2011, 16:00

Further information about this Announcement of Opportunity available here

Countryside Council Wales- Funding newsletter Spring 2011

 

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FUTURE EVENTS

A selection of forthcoming events that may be of interest to Scientific Researchers in Wales.

A Sustainable Countryside? Regulating New Techologies for Food Farming and Ecology’
21st September 2011: Newcastle Law School, Newcastle University
This one-day conference will address important issues in developing – and then implementing – a vision for a ‘sustainable’ countryside and for sustainable rural communities. Keynote speakers will address several overarching themes. What is a ‘sustainable’ countryside? How do we balance the demands of making the changes in land use required by climate change adaptation and mitigation, while also ensuring food security? And how do we reconcile these objectives with the continuing protection of biodiversity and precious landscapes? The three panel themes will address key challenges for the future regulation and governance of our countryside: (i) climate change policy and its implementation; (ii) new technologies in the energy sector, including farm-based energy production; and (iii) new technologies in food production. The conference will conclude by addressing how these might be reconciled in an integrated policy framework for the future. More…

World Conference on Marine Biodiversity

26-30 September 2011 Various venues in Aberdeen, Scotland

The World Conference on Marine Biodiversity has the overall aim of bringing together scientists, practitioners and the public to discuss and advance our understanding of the issues surrounding the importance of biodiversity in the marine environment. The conference will address issues of marine biodiversity across a deliberately wide range of relevant spheres and interacting topics.

Who should run the countryside?

Rural Economy and Land Use Programme (RELU)
Wednesday 16 November 2011 The Sage, Gateshead

This conference will provide an opportunity to:

Debate major questions about the future of the UK countryside
Learn about innovation in science, methodology and practice from the Relu programme
Participate in real-life science

ENVECON 2012

The UK Network of Environmental Economists (UKNEE) Applied Environmental Economics Conference

Friday 9th March 2012 The Royal Society in London.

ENVECON will bring together environmental economists from public and private sectors, academia and consultancy to share results of recent research and to discuss issues relevant to the practical application of environmental economics in the UK, Europe and elsewhere.

For more information please contact Olga@eftec.co.uk

Planet under Pressure

26-29 March 2012:London

The 2012 international Planet Under Pressure conference will provide a comprehensive update of the pressure planet Earth is now under. The conference will discuss solutions at all scales to move societies on to a sustainable pathway. It will provide scientific leadership towards the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development - Rio+20.

Valuing Ecosystems: Policy, Economic and Management Interactions

Joint SEPA and SAC Biennial Conference in association with Forest Research

The James Hutton Institute and Scottish Natural Heritage

3-4 April 2012, Edinburgh
This conference will seek to present not only the best possible scientific understanding of the complexities associated with the delivery of multiple ecosystem services but also provide a forum to raise and discuss what still needs to be done to have an ecosystem approach recognised and supported by land managers, researchers and policy makers.

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RECENT EVENTS

Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales

Connecting landscapes through “A Living Wales”
July 11th Venue Future Inn: Cardiff Bay

Cynnal Cymru - Sustain Wales

'Perspectives on Wellbeing - Networks for Change,’

13 July 2011 Cardiff

The day looked at wellbeing - which the Welsh Government describes as a positive physical, social and mental state - as a sustainable development issue. Wellbeing is considered a key indicator of sustainable development in Wales.

Biosciences, Environment and Agriculture Alliance (BEAA)

Ecosystem Services Conference Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff

21st -23rd June 2011. (WERH hosted final day of BEAA conference with presentations on ecosystem services).

Sustainable Expansion of the Applied Coastal and Marine Sectors (SEACAMS)

Menai Bridge Anglesey 8th June 2011

Launch of Sustainable Expansion of the Applied Coastal and Marine Sectors (SEACAMS), an ambitious project to support a whole range of coastal and marine related industries.

The SEACAMS team 'launched’ their project at a number of venues round Wales in June, starting with an opportunity to meet the team aboard the RV ‘Prince Madog’, at Menai Bridge Anglesey 8th June 2011. The ‘Prince Madog’ then visited Swansea on the 13 June and Cardiff on the 15 June. The team held shore-based exhibitions at all venues including Aberystwyth on the 16 June 2011.

 

UK National Ecosystem Assessment

London, June 2nd 2011

Launch of UK National Ecosystem Assessment

Biodiversity and the Big Society

Delivering Ecology and Nature Conservation from a Locally-Led Perspective

15 June 2011 Arup, 8 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 4BQ.

Wales Environment Link (WEL)

Plas Dolerw Newtown Powys.

6th July 2011 (Presentation on the work of the Wales Environment Research Hub and the NEA)

Sustainable Places Research Institute

Launch of The Sustainable Places Research Institute based in Cardiff University

The SPRI is about making new connections in sustainability research finding pragmatic, policy-led locally-based solutions for individual cities, regions and nations.

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OTHER WERH NEWS

Climate Change Consortium of Wales (C3W) - The Wales Environment Research Hub now shares office space with a part time Outreach Officer funded by the Climate Change Consortium Wales

 

WELSH GOVERNMENT & AGENCY INFORMATION

Initial Statement on 'A Living Wales'

Former Wales Environment Minister Jane Davidson introduced plans to radically transform the way Wales manages and protects its environment, countryside and seas. She stated: “The Welsh Assembly Government is committed to putting Sustainable Development at the heart of everything it does.  A Living Wales seeks to ensure a much more integrated approach to managing our eco-systems.

“It puts eco-systems and their services right at the heart of our decision making processes and is aimed at ensuring that we treat our natural environment with the full consideration and respect it deserves.”

Written statement on the Natural Environment Framework   15 June 2011

New Wales Environment Minister John Griffiths AM has stated: "My priority for the development of `A Living Wales` is now to implement the new approach in our communities across Wales.

The Department and our agencies will be developing a series of pilot projects after the summer to test the new approach locally. This will look at different environments from the urban to the deep rural and the coastal and how these might be used more sustainably over time. I also want us to look particularly at some of our most pressured urban environments to ensure that we deliver a better quality of life for people who live there, looking at all aspects of the local environment."

Countryside Council Wales

H2O Newsletter

Information about the CCW's marine freshwater work and projects including:

The Million Ponds Project is a national partnership initiative to protect our freshwater wildlife by creating a network of clean water bodies across the UK.

It has a wide range of partners, including Plantlife, Buglife, Natural England, Environment Agency, Defence Estates and the Forestry Commission. CCW and the Tubney Trust are funding project officers to help provide training and advice.

Environment Agency Wales

Environmental Research from Welsh Universities Q2 April to June 2011

Forest Research

Summer 2011 News