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Research conducted at Plymouth University on the coastal environment has informed climate strategy and transport planning in the UK. The research resulted in the United Kingdom Climate Impact Programme (UKCIP) re-analysing and correcting rates of coastal land movement to improve predictions of sea-level change, in its UK Climate Projections science report (Lowe et al. 2009). These data now help underpin government policy related to climate change impacts. A follow-on project, focusing on the impact of sea-level rise on the Dawlish-Teignmouth stretch of the London-Penzance Railway line, was used by Network Rail in the implementation of its climate change adaptation strategy. This stretch of railway is recognised as critical infrastructure as it is the only means of access to west Devon, Plymouth and Cornwall by train from the rest of the country. Devon County Council also used the work to inform its third Local Transport Plan (LPT3) and the future management of coastal infrastructure.
3DU researchers have used innovative techniques for reconstructing past sea levels to compile a comprehensive database of evidence on recent and current UK sea-level change, and have developed an improved model of vertical land movement which is consistent with the historical data on sea-level change. The model and database underpin the sea-level component of the UK Climate Projections 09 (UKCP09) climate modelling tool, and thereby inform a wide range of coastal planning and management activities around the UK. DU researchers have also applied these methodological advances in detailed work on coastal stability at existing and proposed sites for nuclear power stations and nuclear waste repositories in England and Sweden.
Research on modelling wildness has resulted in the development of a wildness mapping tool for Scotland's national parks which provides a basis for supporting decision making relating to planning applications that are potentially detrimental to wildness. The methodologies developed have been adopted by Scottish Natural Heritage to map wildness and wild land across Scotland. In 2013, the Scottish Government proposed that the identified `core areas of wild land' should be protected through Development Plans and spatial frameworks for onshore wind energy; this proposal is currently out for consultation. These methodologies have also been used to map wildness and identify priority sites in Europe.
Meeting rapidly rising food demands at least cost to biodiversity is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. Since 2005, research in the Department of Zoology has demonstrated that measures to reconcile biodiversity and agricultural production are sometimes best focused on spatial separation (land sparing) rather than integration (land sharing).This work has had a significant impact on policy debate, and has informed policy decisions relating to management of the agri-environment at both national and international levels. Policy statements on increasing food production at least cost to nature now make explicit the potential role that land sparing may have, and place greater emphasis on the need for clear scientific evidence of costs and benefits of different approaches.
With national and international impact, Home's research on land titling and Islamic land law has helped develop donor aid policy, through UN-Habitat initiatives on post-disaster issues and Islamic land law, and World Bank initiatives on the rule of law in Africa. Impacts of his research within the UK include his contribution to the UK Government's Foresight Land Use Futures Project (2010), and to current policy discussions on future new housing provision. The case study title comes from a well-known story illustrating the legally dubious origins of land ownership in land-grabbing.
NRI's research in Africa has been influential in shifting thinking, policy and practice on customary land tenure and promotion of land tenure security. In particular it has promoted the recognition that customary tenure systems can sometimes provide a high degree of tenure security and do not need to be replaced wholesale, and that a variety of alternative approaches to conventional land titling are available. This led international agencies to develop new approaches and guidelines for land policy and set the stage for a new generation of land tenure projects and programme interventions in Africa, to which NRI is also actively contributing.
Professor Patrick McAuslan's research changed the international development community's view about the role of land law reform in sustainable development and poverty alleviation. Until his research identified how policy-makers should and could use land law reform to achieve their development aims, international agencies did not consider that land law reform had a significant role in furthering economic and social development.
McAuslan disseminated and continued his research during many consultancy assignments for the World Bank (WB), the EU, UN agencies, DFID and other international development bodies. He also reviewed planning and land law in many countries, often significantly shaping the resulting legislation.
Research at the University of Southampton has redefined understanding of the potential rapidity of sea level rise above the present, and of the relationship between climate change and sea level. It has informed the "worst-case scenario" for climate change flood risk assessment in the UK as well as key adaptation policy documents throughout Europe, North America and Australasia. Impact generation occurs mainly though active public engagement, which ensures widespread international media attention, and through direct interaction with the Environment Agency (EA) and UK Climate Impact Programme (UKCIP) which have now joined the research group in a £3.3 million consortium project to better define the "worst case scenario".
Research at Newcastle has been used to improve the governance of common land both locally and nationally. Locally: (i) by landowners to develop new models for community management of common land; and (ii) by the Foundation for Common Land and its constituent stakeholder groups to inform the development of self-regulatory commons councils under Part 2 Commons Act 2006. Nationally: (i) by the National Trust to develop new models for community management of its extensive common land holdings across England and Wales; and (ii) the research has influenced the development of policy by the Government Office for Science, and by the UK statutory conservation bodies, for the improvement of the environmental governance of common land.
Professor James Hunter's research focuses on the relationship between land and people in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. This research established that land reform could lead to the economic and social regeneration of rural communities and has had considerable impact on public policy debate in Scotland during the REF 2014 period. In particular, Hunter's recent research into community ownership of land led to his appointment (2012-13) to the Scottish Government's Land Reform Review Group (LRRG) by Scotland's First Minister, the Right Hon. Alex Salmond and his activism has led to changes in Scottish Government policy. Moreover, Hunter's research has informed community buyout schemes, leading to a range of economic, social and environmental impacts.