Forest Enterprise England, the land management agency of the Forestry Commission, has become the first organisation to publish an organisation-wide Natural Capital Account. It seeks to quantify the full value of the services provided by the natural assets on its entire 254,000 hectare landholding. Although the account is initially only partial, it includes detailed management […]
MPs on the Energy and Climate Change Committee have warned the Government that, on its current course, the UK will fail to achieve its 2020 renewable energy targets—to provide for 15% of its energy needs from renewable sources. The overall obligation includes three sub-targets: 30% in electricity, 12% in heat and 10% in transport. The […]
Researchers at Cranfield University are looking at how the UK’s fruit and vegetable systems can be more resilient to water-related risks such as drought. Fresh fruit and vegetables are an important part of our diet, but they are mainly grown in the driest parts of the UK, such as East Anglia or the South East, […]
Gvt call in Druridge Bay open cast mine approval This decision taken by the council seemed to fly in the face of the Government’s climate change commitments, the phase out of coal and the AONB status of the area. If the Government do block it won’t this set a precedent in relation to fracking? It […]
Torridge and North Devon Councils have established a new Water Quality task team to monitor and improve the water quality of the Taw and Torridge Estuary. Working in partnership with the North Devon Biosphere, Environment Agency and South West Water the group will be looking to bring the quality of the water in the region’s […]
South-west beach & offshore sediment dynamics study – NERC – Gerd Masselink Cornishman ‘The beaches of the Westcountry have still not fully recovered after they were battered by the ferocious storms of 2013 and 2014. Now a new research project is setting out to discover why much of the sand on Devon and Cornwall’s chief […]
The race for vast remote ‘marine protected areas’ may be a diversion Peter Jones The seas around Hawaii are set to become the world’s largest marine protected area, US president Barack Obama has announced. The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument will be expanded to more than 1.5 million square kilometres – that’s as big as France, […]
SAMS viewpoint The seaweed production business is booming around the world, prompting a new call from a UN agency for stricter policies to safeguard the industry. The seaweed business is “undergoing a rapid global expansion,” according to a new report released Saturday by the United Nations University, a global think-tank headquartered in Japan, with institutes […]