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The research resulted in primary legislation and provided government with the evidence used when implementing the measures set out within legislation. Specifically, this concerned:
This work, together with connected public outreach, was awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize in 2011 for excellence in research supporting better governance of the ocean.
Research on the distribution, abundance and sensitivity to disturbance of marine predators has been translated into environmental and economic benefits via a series of spin-out companies with a global presence. The research enabled the following impacts:
Direct company earnings were ~£6 million turnover in the assessment period and this supported 24 employees two-thirds of whom are skilled specialists.
There is a potential conflict between the expansion of marine renewable energy developments, such as offshore wind farms, and seabird conservation. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) must be carried out before planning permission can be granted for such projects. Working with environmental consultancies and key statutory bodies, Professor Furness at the University of Glasgow developed a clear, systematic and widely accepted framework for assessing the impact of wind, wave and tidal projects on seabird populations. This framework has expedited the project development process and lessened potential risks to seabirds, meeting conservation requirements while benefiting all those involved in renewable energy projects by reducing the risk of misjudgements in the impact assessment process.
The International Centre for Island Technology (ICIT) based at Heriot-Watt University's Orkney campus is a multi-disciplinary research team whose focus for over a decade has been research into the socio-economic and environmental barriers to the development of marine renewable energy, particularly in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters (PFOW) area and its establishment as a Marine Energy park. This has enabled 1.2GW of marine energy leases by the Crown Estates including an estimated £3billion of related capital investment, as well as the establishment of the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), which continues to maintain its impact on the development of marine renewable energy.
Research at the International Centre for Island Technology at Heriot-Watt University has led to a substantial boost to Orkney with £8.8m in Gross Value Added to the local economy, with the creation of 119 jobs (Biggar Economics, 2012) through a dozen spin-out companies.
Dr Lusseau's work at the University of Aberdeen into the impact of man's activities on wild animals has led to changes in public and environmental policies in several nations as well as changes in international policies. He developed insights as well as modelling approaches to understand the consequences of human disturbances on the viability of animal populations.
The Aberdeen work has led to a change in the way the environmental impact of a range of industries — including tourism, marine renewable energy and oil & gas — is assessed. Lusseau developed best approaches to manage the disruptions of animal behaviour that those activities created to ensure that those disturbances do not endanger the viability of wild animal populations.
Specifically this research resulted in impact that influenced international policy development and international planning processes. It also informed planning decisions and changed the way environmental risks and hazards are managed in the UK, USA, and New Zealand, and informed changes in legislations and regulations in the USA, UK and New Zealand.
Researchers at the University of St Andrews have changed the way environmental monitoring and impact assessment data are collected and analysed, particularly in the marine environment. We have developed new statistical models of wildlife population dynamics that, for example, form the basis for population assessment of most of the world's grey seals, allowing the UK and Canadian governments to implement effective management of the populations. Other research carried out by us has led to reformulation of the recommended standard statistical practice for impact assessment in the UK marine renewables industry, enabling marine regulators such as Marine Scotland to make better-informed licensing decisions concerning large-scale offshore renewable energy developments.
Research on the status, distribution and ecology of sea turtles at the University of Exeter has driven national and international conservation policy, engaged millions of people worldwide and raised substantial funding for conservation. Governments including the UK, Cayman Islands, Cyprus and Gabon have used this research in making legislation and multi-million pound management decisions. Development of open-access animal tracking tools has facilitated a global network of over 135 countries, with more than 300 projects tracking thousands of animals from 118 species. The ability to adopt tracked animals online has attracted millions of visitors and raised funding for conservation projects world-wide.
In 2012, cod stocks in the North Sea were assessed as having recovered almost to a level at which their viability is considered to be safe. This recovery followed 3 decades of progressive depletion to only 50% of the safety threshold of abundance. Achieving this recovery required the EU to abandon an earlier `closed area' policy banning fishing in selected areas of the North Sea, and instead enforce drastic cuts in overall activity on national fishing fleets. The policy change was prompted in part by predictions from mathematical modelling of cod populations by researchers at Strathclyde, showing that the `closed area' policy was unlikely to be an effective strategy for recovery. The recovery has so far restored £17 million in annual value to the fishery.
This impact study deals with the development and implementation of an internationally recognised, statistically-based sampling regime for marine sediment hydrocarbon contamination. Its Economic and Environmental impacts include a reduction in sampling and analysis costs to operators while maintaining a statistically robust monitoring procedure to protect and enhance the environment (including valuable fisheries) and support oil and gas exploration/production. This regime was initially adopted by the UK Government in the UK Marine Monitoring and Assessment Strategy in 2009. These statistical-based sampling protocols have subsequently passed into wider environmental policy and the Random Stratified Statistical Sampling Regime represents the accepted standard for marine monitoring in the £22 billion oil exploration and production industry in the UK Continental Shelf. This regime has now been taken-up internationally by the other 14 countries bordering/discharging to the North East Atlantic through the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic.
Safeguarding our seas through the establishment of marine Special Protection Areas and cultural heritage Seascapes is a fundamental aim of European Union Directives and the UK Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. Over the past decade, sonar research development led by Dr Bates of the University of St Andrews has had widespread influence on international government and industry through accurate mapping of these assets, championing their importance and establishing new management strategies for their conservation. This work has been pivotal to the creation of 107 of the current legislated European Marine Special Areas of Conservation and Marine Special Protection Areas. The innovations in technology pioneered by this work also are providing critical findings on climate change impacts in the Earth's most sensitive and threatened environments with world media coverage on work in the Arctic including the award- winning TV series Operation Iceberg in 2012. Strong international media involvement has become one of the hallmarks of this work which simultaneously delivers research results as outputs of high quality across the globe. Furthermore, the technology has had economic impact in the form of three spin-out companies.