Global Collaboration Archives - The Wessex Portal

Fusion Professorial Lecture: Addressing the environmental crisis

31/01/202031/01/2020Katie Thompson

With so many reports and news stories about the environmental issues we currently face, including climate change, biodiversity loss and plastic pollution, which problems should cause us most concern and how can we tackle them?

A Bournemouth University (BU) academic will talk at RNLI College on Thursday 13 February to address these issues in the first of a series of free public lectures. BU’s Professor of Marine Biology and Conservation, Rick Stafford, will launch the Fusion Professorial Lecture Series with his talk, ‘Addressing the environmental crisis: from reusable coffee cups to political reform, what really works?’

Rick, from the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, said: “It’s vital we address the environmental crisis properly in the very near future. This talk will bring together my research over the last two years and present a timely message that it’s not too late to act, and give a positive vision of what the future could be like if we do.”

Using his research, Rick will demonstrate that plastic pollution is a real threat, but has been overemphasised in order to maintain the economic and political status quo. His findings also show that climate change and biodiversity loss need large systematic changes in economic and political thinking to be successfully tackled, although nature-based solutions such as tree planting and a respect for nature are also important.

Rick will demonstrate the benefits to biodiversity and society of changing our approach to economics, and show that necessary changes will be advantageous to most people, both in developed and developing countries.

Rick added: “It’s very timely, and hopefully it will inspire people to support the necessary changes we need at local, national and international levels.”

The Fusion Professorial Lecture Series is free and open to the public, with six planned throughout the year, and cover a wide range of topics from BU academics.

Rick Stafford’s research began studying rocky shores, and developed into mathematical and computer models of animal behaviour. He currently works on topics as diverse as marine protected areas, fisheries, artificial reefs, as well as climate change and biodiversity loss.

The free to attend lecture takes place on Thursday 13 February, 6:30pm, and is ticketed. You can register for tickets on Eventbrite.

Article source: BU Research Blog

Super news for Snakes in the Heather

29/07/201929/07/2019Katie Thompson

‘Snakes in the Heather’ is a new and exciting ARC project which has been awarded support from the National Lottery. The project aims to conserve Britain’s rarest reptile, the smooth snake, by bringing together key partners including Amphibian and Reptile Groups, Wildlife Trusts and other non-governmental and governmental organisations.

Over the past two centuries there has been an extensive decline in the smooth snake’s primary habitat, lowland heathland. The species is now only found on the heaths of Dorset, Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex, with a special introduction site in Devon. It is a very secretive creature, choosing to bask within heather vegetation and burrowing out of sight. For this reason, its ecology, behaviour and distribution have been difficult to study and therefore its status and conservation needs are poorly understood.

The £412,000 National Lottery Heritage Fund grant will develop partnerships between organisations and community volunteers, and harmonize conservation efforts across southern England.

The project will raise awareness and “ownership” of reptiles among local communities through the media and events, greater community awareness of smooth snakes as a unique component of our biological heritage. We will use a “citizen science” approach to help us conserve the smooth snake by training new and existing volunteers to carry out targeted reptile surveys. This will provide valuable data to better understand the smooth snake’s needs in order to support and inform conservation decisions. Volunteers will also carry out practical tasks to improve the species’ heathland habitats across Southern England.

The project’s legacy will ensure better managed, more resilient smooth snake populations through a greater, shared understanding of the conservation needs of the species.

The project will build on the strong local partnerships that are already in place and runs until 2023.

For more information on Snakes in the Heather contact:

smooth.snakes@arc-trust.org

Article source: https://www.arc-trust.org/snakes-in-the-heather

Participants needed for workshop on ‘Research capacity for sustainable ecosystem-based management of estuaries and coasts’ in South Africa

23/01/201823/01/2018Katie Thompson

Under the Researcher Links scheme offered within the Newton Fund, the British Council, in partnership with the South African National Research Foundation, will be holding a three day workshop on the above theme in the premises of the Oceanographic Research Institute, uShaka Marine World in Durban South Africa, on 19-21 June 2018. The workshop is being coordinated by Dr Luciana Esteves (Bournemouth University, UK), Prof Trevor Hill (University of KwaZulu-Natal, SA), Bronwyn Goble (Oceanographic Research Institute, SA) and Katie Smyth (University of Hull, UK) and will have contributions from leading researchers from the UK and SA (Prof Mike Elliot, Prof Andrew Cooper, Dr Ursula Scharler and Dr Louis Celliers). We are now inviting Early Career Researchers from the UK or South Africa to apply to attend this workshop. All travel and accommodation expenses will be covered by the Newton Researcher Links programme. The application form, with more details on the initiative, is attached and should be sent to lesteves@bournemouth.ac.uk before the deadline of 16^th March 2018. The successful applicants will be notified by 23^rd March 2018.

Workshop Outline

Coastal and estuarine ecosystems worldwide are under pressure from population growth, urbanisation and other land-based and marine activities. In the United Kingdom (UK) and South Africa (SA), coastal areas greatly contribute to the local and national economy by supporting key urban centres and industries (tourism, fisheries, ports). Climate change tends to exacerbate existing problems, including but not limited to flooding, erosion, water quality and resource availability, which can have implications on environmental quality, food production, water supply and human health. Ecosystem-based management (EBM) has emerged as an integrated approach for the sustainable management of the trade-offs between socioeconomic development and nature conservation. EBM requires a transdisciplinary understanding of the natural system, nature-human interactions, and how they change through time. The workshop will bring together researchers from SA and the UK to discuss how they can collaborate to support EBM through the development of long-lasting UK-SA collaboration and government-research partnerships. The workshop aims to attract researchers from the social and natural sciences to create the required combination of expertise to co-construct, advance and share knowledge to support estuarine and coastal EBM. The integration of scientific and practical knowledge will be facilitated by the participation of NGOs and government practitioners.

Workshop objectives

Activities will include a mix of scientific and technical discussions to stimulate capacity building opportunities through mentorship and sharing of experiences and knowledge. The workshop will focus on: identifying skills and knowledge required to enable research on EBM; the dissemination of good practice for the development of collaborative research (including equity and diversity in multicultural teams); and sharing information concerning funding opportunities. A key objective is to create long-lasting cross-sector (government-research) and UK-SA collaboration that facilitates research impact on policy and decision-making (i.e. to improve environmental health in estuaries and coasts and related economy). It is envisaged that participants, mentors and coordinators will identify opportunities for visiting fellowships, co-supervision and mobility of postgraduate students and stimulate the creation of formal training/degrees in SA universities in collaboration with UK researchers and SA practitioners.

Download the application form here:

Research capacity for sustainable ecosystem-based management of estuaries and coasts application