Gerry Lawson & Pamela Kempton

NERC Swindon

21 Sept. 2006

Development of NERC’s next science strategy: an update for the SEERAD Strategic Science Advisory

Panel

• NERC Council is developing the next Strategy to replace Science for a Sustainable future 2002 – 2007.

• To be launched mid 2007, but Science priorities are required by September 2006 for spending review submissions.

• Seven Strategic Science themes have been identified by Council.

NERC Strategy Development

Treasury: 5 policy challenges for CSR2007

“Increasing pressures on our natural resources and global climate from rapid economic and population growth in the developing world and sustained demand for fossil fuels in advanced economies”

(NERC leading among Councils)

NERC Strategy Development

Council has identified:

• NERC’s major contribution will be in providing foresight of the future state of the environment to allow business, policy and society to make informed choices.

NERC Strategy Development

• Council has delegated responsibility for developing the seven strategic science themes to SISB.

• Strategy development panels for each theme.– Forecasting and mitigation of natural hazards– Environment, pollution and human health– Biodiversity– Climate systems – Sustainable use of natural resources

plus two cross-cutting themes:– Earth System Science– Technologies

NERC Strategy Development

7 Themes

Previous Biodiversity Research

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

200520042003200220012000199919981997

Perc

ent

Trend in Biodiversity ENRI

ENRIS 2002-03

21.9

13.9

36.6

19.8

7.9Biodiversity

Environmental Risks andHazards

Global Change

Natural ResourceManagement

Pollution and Waste

Grants & Fellowships Spend 04/05

Programme Spend 04/05 Grants % Biodiv. %TOTALStandard £5,751,824 203 64 43.6Environmental Genomics £2,252,913 31 79 17.1Small Grants £817,446 81 63 6.2Marine & Freshwater Microbial Biodiversity (M&FMB) £708,054 30 81 5.4Capital Equipment £682,976 10 40 5.2Consortium Grants £599,354 18 54 4.5Blue Skies Post Doc Fellow £489,477 24 61 3.7Blue Skies Advanced Fellow £394,673 17 51 3.0New Investigators £359,454 26 67 2.7Post Genomics £216,577 16 61 1.6

Environmental Factors in Chronology of Human Evolution & Dispersal £155,228 12 44 1.2E-Science £127,203 1 100 1.0Other Programmes £646,977 61 4.9TOTAL £13,202,155 530

Funding primarily Terrestrial (60%), Marine (25%) and Freshwater (11%)

Current NERC Biodiversity Research

• In 04/05– £13.2m on biodiversity component of 530 Grants &

Fellowships (using ENRIs)– £8.3m on biodiversity component of 874 Studentships.– £2.3m (net) on biodiversity programme of CEH– £1.17 to CPB & £90k to PopNet (rising to £500k)– Uncertain amounts to BAS and Marine Centres– Subscriptions to Diversitas, GBIF, EuroDIVERSITY,

GLOBEC and other small grants.

Biodiversity Strategy Development Panel

• Chair: Georgina Mace.• The origin, maintenance and

management of biodiversity in the natural world, the risks to biodiversity from human impacts, including climate change and environmental change, and the opportunities and benefits presented by a rich and diverse natural environment.

• Reducing the rate of loss of biodiversity

• Quantifying and communicating the benefits of biodiversity to the economy and society to influence policy

Biodiversity Strategy Development Panel

2 overarching outcomes

Biodiversity Challenges

• New tools for discovery, assessment, and linking identity to function.– New (e.g.) molecular approaches to rapidly assess and

understand biodiversity, and functions of organisms, populations, species and/or communities.

• Measuring abundance and distribution.– Development of a coherent set of measures of biodiversity

across taxa, scales and ecosystems.

• Whole ecosystems: biodiversity functions and resilience.– The relationships between biodiversity and both ecosystem

function and resilience.

Biodiversity Challenges

• Biodiversity and ecosystems in the face of environmental change.– The effects of environmental change on genes,

populations species and communities.

• Biodiversity for life support.– Measuring and predicting the impact of biodiversity

on human well being.

• Valuation of biodiversity.– Development of an objective method to directly and

indirectly estimate the value of biodiversity

Science Drivers & Challenges

• Bioinformatics, data management and distributed computing

• Long term survey, long term experimentation.• Systematics and taxonomy• Poor knowledge of marine and freshwater

biodiversity (compared with terrestrial)• Local and regional linkages• Understanding of the role of microorganisms

Key areas for policy makers

• Environmental limits (‘tipping points’)

• Soils

• Urban biodiversity

• Impacts of agri-environment schemes

Strategy Development Panels

Next steps• Recommendations to SISB - 11/12 July 2006.• SISB’s overall recommendations go to Council in

September 2006.• Results will inform discussions on CSR2007 with DGSI

in October 2006.• Draft Strategy will be open to consultation.• Publish Strategy mid 2007

Potential Collaboration

• Diversitas • BRAG • EPBRS • EU Framework 7 • BiodivERsA – Porto

Meeting May 4th 06

• Porto: any common biodiversity research call should:– Provide added value both at European and National levels– Help solve problems in the “real world” while also providing scope for basic

research and the development of innovative and/or interdisciplinary approaches– Be likely to result in successful collaboration/ building on existing strengths– Not be limited to particular ecosystems– Implement agreed international and European research priorities.

NERC Strategy Development

Questions?