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Natural Capital Initiative

Insect invaders and problematic plants: the threats posed by invasive species

By Barney Slater AMRSB, BBSRC PhD student at University of Cambridge and policy intern at the Royal Society of Biology. March 27th – April 2nd was this year’s UK Non-Native Species Secretariat (UNNS) Invasive Species Week. During the week NNSS teamed up with Defra to spread awareness of what invasive species are, which pose a … Continue reading »

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How can we adapt to climate change?

By Barney Slater AMRSB, BBSRC PhD student at University of Cambridge and policy intern at the Royal Society of Biology. Global climate change is an increasing threat for the UK. Research shows an average temperature increase of almost 1⁰C over the last 50 years in the UK, and climate projections predict that this could climb … Continue reading »

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Securing the future of our natural capital: a 25 year strategy

Written by Ben Connor, policy officer at the British Ecological Society. This piece was originally posted on the BES blog. A comprehensive 25-year strategy to protect and enhance England’s natural capital is required if the Government is to meet its commitment for this generation to be the first to leave the natural environment in a … Continue reading »

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What is natural capital?

Daija Angeli, project officer in the Natural Capital Initiative (NCI), works with the term natural capital every day. When a member of NCI’s Steering Group mentioned that people don’t know what it means until you tell them about bumblebees and apple trees, she thought it was time to reflect on the term again. Most of … Continue reading »

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How does science get into policy?

Daija Angeli, project officer at the Natural Capital Initiative, reflects on the British Ecological Society (BES) Policy Training Day she attended last week. How can scientists and researchers effectively engage with policy and decision makers and how do they best communicate science to these audiences? The British Ecological Society (BES) Policy Training Day offered answers to … Continue reading »

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How do we value our natural capital?

Daija Angeli, project officer for the Society of Biology’s special interest group the Natural Capital Initiative, attended a meeting of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee on the valuation of natural capital on 25th February 2014. Here is what she learned: How do we value our nature? The concept of natural capital is often used to … Continue reading »

Categories: Conservation, Natural Capital Initiative, Nature, Policy | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

The meadows of Transylvania – a biodiversity hotspot

Dr Barbara Knowles FSB, Senior Science Policy Adviser at the Society of Biology, devotes much of her time to preserving Transylvania’s hay meadows. Dr Laura Bellingan FSB, Head of Policy at the Society of Biology, visited her recently and has written about her experience: If I’m asked to think of biodiversity hot-spots worthy of conservation, wilderness … Continue reading »

Categories: Conservation, Natural Capital Initiative, Nature, Royal Society of Biology | Tags: , , | 2 Comments

World Forum on Natural Capital: valuing ecosystems

Guest post by Caroline Vevers, Event Manager at the World Forum on Natural Capital, where the Society of Biology‘s Natural Capital Initiative special interest group is organising two sessions. Against a backdrop of increasing international interest in how we value the economic benefits we derive from our natural environment, business leaders, policy makers and sustainability … Continue reading »

Categories: Conservation, Natural Capital Initiative, Nature | 1 Comment

Ecological and economic perspectives on sustainable agriculture

This week, the Natural Capital Initiative ran a workshop to discuss how ecologists and economists can collaborate to increase sustainability in agriculture. Two keynote presentations outlined how farmers could be given incentives to protect environmental goods and services. These came from the perspective of ecologist Professor William Sutherland (University of Cambridge) and economist Professor Ian … Continue reading »

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