29 Nov 2016

Evidence and Management for Marine Recreational Activities – Call for Information Do you have information on the impact (or lack of impact) of recreational activities on the marine environment? Do you have information on the effectiveness of management measures to reduce the impact of recreational activities on the marine environment? If so, we would like […]

29 Nov 2016

Bob Earll      It took years to drag the Government into implementing a plastic bag tax which they now acknowledge is working. The 2016 MCS Beachwatch data also confirms this with an almost 50% decline in plastic bags in the recent Beachwatch survey. Targeting particular items is a powerful tool and begs the question of what […]

28 Nov 2016

Natural England has published, ‘Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment – The national survey on people and the natural environment – Visits to coastal England (NECR226)’. Background: In 2009 Natural England, Defra and the Forestry Commission commissioned TNS to undertake the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) survey for the first time. […]

28 Nov 2016

Environment Agency. ‘This report sets out a good practice framework for the development of future coastal flood forecasting systems. It examines the components that typically make up a coastal flood forecasting system, such as national forecasts and sea-level translation, and shows how to evaluate the quality of these components to help modellers make better decisions […]

28 Nov 2016

A call for underwater noise assessment guidance Elena San Martin, ABPmer: ‘Human activity in or near to the aquatic environment can generate underwater sound potentially affecting fauna in a number of ways. These range from masking biologically relevant signals, evoking behavioural responses and causing hearing damage resulting in physical injury or even death at very […]

28 Nov 2016

Ocean optimism Much depends on the way one views the world. This TED talk by Heather Koldewey shows what a positive attitude can achieve. It is a talk that works at many levels; it shows: How your career might start simply but then diversify The difference individuals can make How collaboration pays off The circular […]

23 Nov 2016

‘Last week I reported the rather embarrassing discovery prompted by Friends of the Earth through a Freedom of Information request that little or no Defra money had been spent on Natural Flood Management (see below). Andrea Leadsom responding to an ex Defra minister – Richard Benyon – at Defra questions was able to report last […]