Research Subject Area: Environmental Science and Management

REF impact found 201 Case Studies

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A framework for establishing how to increase global food production at least cost to biodiversity

Summary of the impact

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.

Submitting Institution

University of Cambridge

Unit of Assessment

Biological Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Environmental Sciences: Ecological Applications, Environmental Science and Management
Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

A genetically informed management plan for breeding African Wild Dogs in captivity

Summary of the impact

African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus; referred to as `AWDs' hereafter for brevity) have been classed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for 22 years. Large, well-managed captive breeding programmes provide a safety net to restore wild populations. However, the management of the AWD population has been difficult owing to an incomplete family record of captive AWDs, which risks introducing genetic disorders caused by inbreeding. A genetically informed management plan developed by University of Glasgow researchers has provided a genetic measure of diversity and establishes a genetically informed pedigree, which is used in the European Endangered Species Programme for African Wild Dogs. This has introduced a more informed means to manage the captive AWD population, to maintain the genetic diversity of the species across the European zoo network (roughly half the world's captive AWD population), with 53 zoos in 16 European countries (and Israel) currently participating.

Submitting Institution

University of Glasgow

Unit of Assessment

Biological Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Environmental Sciences: Environmental Science and Management
Biological Sciences: Genetics

Animal welfare policy and practice improved internationally as a result of research into poultry-stunning prior to slaughter

Summary of the impact

Defra-funded research at the University of Bristol showed that the water bath stunning protocols commonly used in commercial processing plants resulted in paralysis rather than unconsciousness in chickens during slaughter. This finding led directly to the modification of stunning protocols in a European Union Regulation (1099/2009). Their practical application within slaughter plants has been promoted to the poultry industry in Europe and worldwide via Animal Welfare Officer (AWO) training courses that were developed in Bristol. This has ensured that since 1st January 2013 billions of birds in Europe are now adequately stunned, and therefore unconscious, before they are slaughtered.

Submitting Institution

University of Bristol

Unit of Assessment

Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Environmental Sciences: Environmental Science and Management
Medical and Health Sciences: Clinical Sciences, Neurosciences

Arctic ecosystems and climate change: informing ministers, policy, indigenous societies and education

Summary of the impact

The Arctic is undergoing faster rates of climate change than most other regions of the world, with major global consequences. Since the 1990s, Professor Callaghan and co-workers at Sheffield have been at the forefront of determining climate change impacts on Arctic ecosystems. This research has directly led to, and fed into, invited authorship and major co-ordination roles in the authoritative international synthesis reports on climate change impacts commissioned by the Arctic Council and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Through these reports our findings have been widely communicated to international policymakers, the media and society. Callaghan and colleagues have provided policy advice directly to ministers, ambassadors, climate negotiators, and other leaders through face-to-face meetings and presentations, and influenced policy debates at regional to international levels. They have actively engaged in knowledge- exchange activities with Arctic indigenous societies, which are improving those societies' strategies for adaptation to climate change. Through public lectures, the media and authorship of a commissioned textbook, the Sheffield research findings have increased public understanding and influenced the A-level Geography curriculum.

Submitting Institution

University of Sheffield

Unit of Assessment

Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Environmental Sciences: Ecological Applications, Environmental Science and Management
Biological Sciences: Other Biological Sciences

Art as an agent for change in the work of Professor Lucy Orta

Summary of the impact

Professor Lucy Orta's work, is developed in creative partnership with Jorge Orta, as Lucy + Jorge Orta, and tackles global issues that affect all our lives. Their collaboration sets out to utilize art as an agent for awareness and change, with public dissemination aimed at triggering new thinking and action on issues related to sustainability. Their work has led to an enhanced public understanding of these issues and its impact is evidenced by high level commissions; partnerships with prestigious institutions; media coverage; audience figures; and public engagement activities.

Submitting Institution

University of the Arts London

Unit of Assessment

Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Environmental Sciences: Environmental Science and Management
Built Environment and Design: Architecture

Assessment, restoration and management of urban rivers

Summary of the impact

Angela Gurnell's research on the geomorphology, hydrology and plant ecology of urban water courses has led to the development of important new tools for the biophysical assessment and improved management of urban rivers. Known as the Urban River Survey (URS), these tools are accessed by the Environment Agency and River Trusts across London, and their application is supported with workshops and guidance provided by Gurnell and her team. The URS has been used to deliver morphological quality indicators for rivers across London; to appraise river restoration schemes; to develop catchment management plans; and to assess long-term changes in rivers. It is currently being developed to quantify and set targets for river improvement schemes in relation to their impact on river ecosystem services. Gurnell's work has made a distinct contribution to urban river improvements in Britain and Europe, particularly through her leadership in developing a European framework for assessing hydromorphology.

Submitting Institution

Queen Mary, University of London

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
Environmental Sciences: Environmental Science and Management
Biological Sciences: Ecology

MAT05 - Balanced Harvest: Mathematical underpinnings of a sustainable fisheries policy

Summary of the impact

Mathematical models recently developed in York have improved our understanding of the dynamics of marine ecosystems. They underpin paradigm-changing proposals to orient fisheries policy towards a "balanced harvest" and away from the traditional selective harvesting of species and sizes. These proposals have:

  • influenced, and are now being actively pursued by, international NGOs involved in shaping the future direction of fisheries policy worldwide;
  • informed and stimulated debate among policy makers in the EU Parliament and elsewhere;
  • been incorporated into long range planning for Norwegian fishery management.

Submitting Institution

University of York

Unit of Assessment

Mathematical Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Mathematical Sciences: Statistics
Environmental Sciences: Environmental Science and Management
Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences: Fisheries Sciences

Biodiversity in Urban Gardens (BUGS) - understanding nature in the garden

Summary of the impact

The BUGS research project (1999-2007) at Sheffield was the first large-scale study to reveal the importance of domestic gardens for urban biodiversity. The evidence gathered showed, for the first time, that the extent of gardens, their unique features, and the biodiversity they support makes them a nationally important ecological resource, contributing enormously to conservation and human-nature interactions in urban environments. The results were reported in a series of 13 ISI-listed papers, a popular book and two articles in British Wildlife. The research has had impacts across many audiences and applications ranging from evidence for planning policy changes, through the science to support advisory and campaign groups, to informing public awareness of the merits of individual garden management practices. BUGS research has been a key catalyst in the increased recognition of the importance of gardens in supporting urban biodiversity.

Submitting Institution

University of Sheffield

Unit of Assessment

Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Environmental Sciences: Ecological Applications, Environmental Science and Management

Biodiversity management of UK upland hay meadows

Summary of the impact

The way in which UK upland hay meadows are managed and restored to conserve botanical diversity has been largely determined by research carried out at Newcastle University. Increased post-war agricultural production has converted most species-rich upland hay meadows to species- poor rye-grass grassland so that today only 1070 ha (hectares) undisturbed hay meadow remains. The Newcastle research has been used by Natural England (an executive non-departmental public body responsible for England's natural environment) to produce targeted management prescriptions for 2500 ha of farmland in northern England and has informed National Park and AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) management on best practice for successful restoration of hay meadows. The research has ensured the successful restoration of more than half of the remaining upland hay meadows in England.

Submitting Institution

Newcastle University

Unit of Assessment

Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Environmental Sciences: Ecological Applications, Environmental Science and Management
Biological Sciences: Ecology

Bridging the gap between policy and regulation: new assessment tools for implementing the EU Water Framework Directive

Summary of the impact

Research by Rowan and ERG colleagues Black, Bragg, Cutler, Duck has addressed the science and policy challenges faced by statutory authorities meeting their duty to implement the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000. Assessing the sensitivity of aquatic systems to physical, chemical and biological pressures is the central theme, and through a series of commissioned projects funded by UK environment and conservation agencies, the research has:

  • Developed new assessment tools used by statutory regulators to characterise the degree of flow alteration and physical modification to rivers and lakes;
  • Developed the lake habitat survey (LHS) method, complete with accreditation programme, incorporated as best-practice in a CEN European Guidance Standard;
  • Been translated directly into legally-binding and currently used environmental standards across the UK and Ireland (through new enabling legislation);
  • Informed regulatory practices across Europe, particularly in Italy, Poland, France, Norway, Serbia and Montenegro.

Submitting Institution

University of Dundee

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Environmental Sciences: Environmental Science and Management
Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration

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