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Work by University of Stirling staff has contributed directly to improved wildlife resource management in the Central African region. Innovative research into the status and trends of key wildlife populations, ecological impacts, resource harvests and trade, drivers of resource use and assessing management success have contributed directly to new thinking on the issue, revisions of laws and policy and to success in attracting foreign aid for management issues. Stirling staff members now advise the Government of Gabon on resource management policies, National Park management and biodiversity issues.
Dr Stephen Woolcock's research on EU trade and trade policy, with particular focus on free trade agreements, underpins the work of the LSE's International Trade Policy Unit (ITPU). On the basis of this research, the ITPU was granted a framework contract to provide expert analysis on trade and trade-related topics for the European Parliament's International Trade Committee (INTA). ITPU input has subsequently stimulated and informed debate within the European Parliament and shaped EU policy on free trade agreements.
University of Manchester (UoM) research considers the role, position and perception of developing countries in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It is informed by a deep unease at the way developing and least developed countries (LDCs) have been consistently unable to participate in the multilateral trading system on an equitable basis, and are routinely rendered powerless to realise the meaningful gains that the global trade regime habitually promises. Impact is achieved through a systematic and sustained programme of dissemination, consultation and engagement with high level international policymakers, government officials and civil society organisations, resulting in measurable and meaningful policy change. In conjunction with these stakeholders, the research has: informed the negotiating positions of several states — including South Africa, Turkey, the Seychelles and Nigeria; shaped thinking around the future of the global trade architecture; and contributed to a number of training programmes, most notably at the UN.
Trade and finance are the lifeblood of the global economy. Research conducted within the International Political Economy (IPE) cluster has tracked changes in how trade and finance are governed. This case study demonstrates the impact of the IPE cluster on a range of beneficiaries including national governments, international organisations and non-governmental organisations. Via the £4.3M ESRC-funded Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation (CSGR), members of the IPE cluster have influenced national economic policies, shaped policy debates on international regulatory regimes and informed the attempts of non-state actors to raise ethical standards in transnational corporate practices.
Research on the environmental safety and toxicity of nanomaterials in fishes has had a global impact across both government and industry contributing to:
(i) Consensus building on biological effects allowing regulatory agencies/governments to make proper decisions on the hazard of nanomaterials to farmed fish and wildlife.
(ii) Critical evaluation of the internationally agreed process of toxicity testing to determine whether the current legislative test methods are fit for purpose and acceptable to the aquaculture industry.
(iii) Identification of national/international research priorities and policies via work with the OECD and the US Government.
(iv) Influencing government policy to support training and information for industry.
Since 2008, the School of Environment & Life Sciences at the University of Salford has expanded its research in the field of population and conservation genetics, focusing on the application of molecular genetics and evolutionary theory on supporting the management of exploited living resources and conservation of endangered species and ecosystems. Molecular Ecology and Conservation demonstrates the following impact:
Increasing consumer awareness of the environmental implications of food choices, improving consumer confidence and food management policy, supporting environmental management and biodiversity, and guiding international conservation policy and management processes.
Amrita Narlikar has made a systematic analysis of developing countries' coalition and bargaining strategies in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) which has provided practitioners with an analytic toolkit to navigate complex political economy issues. Key negotiators refer to this work as they develop their coalition strategies, thus helping with the empowerment of developing countries. Expert attempts to reform the WTO have utilised the institutional analysis conducted. The value of the research is recognized by practitioners from developing countries and by others aiming to resolve multilateral deadlocks.
Based on biogenic reef research at Heriot-Watt University (HWU), nine Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been designated and established in the Northeast Atlantic, Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, and a further six are under consideration. These MPAs represent 10% of the Caribbean Sea area, 6% of the UK's inshore Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and 18% of the MPAs under consideration in Scotland. In addition, our ecological assessments of the biodiversity value and structure of biogenic habitats, and their sensitivities to widespread stressors, stakeholder conflict assessment and economic assessments have underpinned the objectives, management measures and assessment of MPAs, and other marine spatial planning initiatives, undertaken in the context of both the current marine environmental conditions and future climate change trajectories.
In 2008-2009 the UK was subject to legal infraction proceedings at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for allegedly failing to implement the European Union's Urban Waste-water Treatment Directive (UWWTD). Research by the Institute of Estuarine and Coastal Studies, Hull (IECS) for the Environment Agency (EA)/Defra provided evidence to the UK Government for its defence against these allegations. The research consisted of:
- literature/data reviews and collection and analysis of critical evidence from the Humber.
- co-ordinating workshops and convening an expert panel of sufficient authoritative academic opinion to counteract the European Court of Justice allegations.
In December 2009 the European Court of Justice ruled in favour of the UK. Our research therefore helped to save very significant, unnecessary capital investment in nutrient removal technology for sewage treatment nationally and in the Yorkshire and Humber region especially. The UK government thus avoided the possibility of major European Commission fines of up to €703,000 per day, or €256m per annum, for infraction of the Urban Water-water Treatment Directive [1].
International trade policy is central to economic and political relationships between countries. Specialists from Sussex developed a method and software, TradeSift (see www.tradesift.com), to analyse trade policy options simply, and have delivered reports and capacity building programmes that have influenced decision-makers engaged in regional integration in the EU, Asia, and Africa. The UK government and the European Commission have funded trade policy evaluation studies from the University and the associated spin-off company (InterAnalysis Ltd) using TradeSift. There have been more than 20 training courses, for over 400 participants, from 70 countries. The beneficiaries are the participants, their employers and civil society.