Event Reports

This live online workshop held by the Scottish Policy Group (SPG) formed part of the Festival of Ecology which is the British Ecological Society’s (BES) annual meeting. This report provides a brief summary of the event. The workshop aimed to provide a starting point for scientists who want to engage further with the policy making process. It also aimed to provide a space to network, share experiences and ask questions.

The session was opened and chaired by Sarah McKain, a BES Policy Officer who coordinates the work of the SPG. The workshop was co-hosted and facilitated by members of the SPG Committee. We had 90+ people in attendance which makes it the largest event in the history of the SPG!

This is a summary of a discussion held at the British Ecological Society’s Scottish Policy Group (BES-SPG) Pie and a Pint meeting in Aberdeen on the 19 March 2019. The event was open to all BES members and those interested in offshore renewables, mitigating climate change and marine conservation. About 45 people attended from a wide range of organisations.

The event was opened with five talks. After which, the participants split into break-out groups to discuss these questions:

• Should mitigating climate change be the most important policy driver?
• Are we dealing with trade-offs effectively?
• Are decisions being made at the right scale?

A summary report from the Brexit Policy Social event, held on 18 December 2018 at the BES Annual Meeting in Birmingham.

The evening was split into four policy topics: 1) the Common Agricultural Policy, 2) the 25-Year Environment Plan, 3) the Environment Bill and 4) the future of environmental policy in devolved nations. Delegates were asked to write their views on post-it notes and place them on the relevant flipchart. The responses highlighted a wide-range of views, often conflicting, illustrating the immense challenge of delivering effective policies for such complex issues. This is a summary of the member feedback from the session, which the Policy Team will use to inform Brexit-related work in the future.

This is a summary of a discussion held at the British Ecological Society’s Scottish Policy Group (BES-SPG) Pie and a Pint meeting in Edinburgh on the 13 November 2018. The event was open to all BES members and those interested in a natural capital approach and biodiversity conservation.  About 45 people attended from a wide range of organisations.

The event was opened with five  talks. After which, the participants split into break-out groups to discuss these questions:

1. When is a natural capital approach useful for biodiversity conservation?
2. When is a natural capital approach NOT useful for biodiversity conservation?
3. Is there a middle ground?

This is a summary of a discussion held at the British Ecological Society’s Scottish Policy Group (BES-SPG) Pie and a Pint meeting in Inverness on the 21 May 2018. The event was open to all BES members and those interested in Scotland’s biodiversity strategy.  About 25 people attended from wide range of organisations.

The event was opened with five quick fire talks. After which, the participants split into four break-out groups to discuss these questions:

1. What is working well with the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy (SBS) to deliver the 2020 targets?
2. What hasn’t worked well in SBS?
3. Where should we go after 2020? – for strategy (i.e. governance /process)
4. Where should we go after 2020? – for biodiversity

The British Ecological Society and the Marine Biological Association brought their members together, along with other interested scientists and environmentalists, for a one-day workshop to identify the key challenges and opportunities for marine environmental policy in the UK after Brexit.

This document is the outcome of a British Ecological Society workshop organised by the Agricultural Ecology Special Interest Group on 6 December 2017 with participants ranging from scientists to farming practitioners. There was broad agreement on what the evidence from science and practice has shown and the main issues that policy should address. The evidence was used to identify a headline goal for agriculture and the environment:

The goal for agriculture is to implement an agro-ecological approach to food production including biodiversity conservation. This should maintain land that is agriculturally productive, rich in wildlife, culturally rich and accessible for the enjoyment of wider society without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

This is a summary of a discussion held at British Ecological Society’s Scottish Policy Group (BES-SPG) Pie and a Pint meeting in Edinburgh on the 9th October 2017.

The event was open to all BES-SPG members and those interested in agricultural policy.  About 25 people attended from wide range of organisations.

The event was opened with five quick five minute talks. After the talks, the participants split into three break-out groups to discuss these questions:

1. What agri-environment schemes have been successful in Scotland so far? What evidence is there for the positive or negative effects of different agri-environment schemes?
2. How can agri-environment schemes be best coordinated at the catchment or landscape scale and by whom?
3. Thinking beyond agri-environment schemes: what other initiatives should we be looking at or trying to incorporate in a future land management policy and who should pay for them?

This report contains the notes from the joint BES Scottish Policy Group and ESCom Scotland Pie and a Pint night,  held on the 9 May 2017 in Edinburgh. The event brought together academics, policymakers and other interested in the environment to discuss the question: ‘Are the provision and management of greenspace in Scotland on track to contribute to the delivery of our Biodiversity 2020 priority aims?’

There were five topical break out groups to discuss biodiversity, multi-functionality, green economy, regulatory ecosystem services and cultural services & health benefits in relation to the above question. The event opened with five minute flash talks from five speakers who had been selected to represent a diverse set of issues and expertise related to urban green infrastructure. This report summarises the event, the presentations and discussions held.