Gerry Lawson

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Development of NERCs next science strategy an
update for the SEERAD Strategic Science Advisory
Panel

• Gerry Lawson Pamela Kempton
• NERC Swindon
• 21 Sept. 2006

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NERC Strategy Development

• NERC Council is developing the next Strategy to
  replace Science for a Sustainable future 2002
  2007.
• To be launched mid 2007, but Science priorities
  are required by September 2006 for spending
  review submissions.
• Seven Strategic Science themes have been
  identified by Council.

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NERC Strategy Development

• Treasury 5 policy challenges for CSR2007
• Increasing pressures on our natural resources
  and global climate from rapid economic and
  population growth in the developing world and
  sustained demand for fossil fuels in advanced
  economies
• (NERC leading among Councils)

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NERC Strategy Development

• Council has identified
• NERCs major contribution will be in providing
  foresight of the future state of the environment
  to allow business, policy and society to make
  informed choices.

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NERC Strategy Development
7 Themes

• Council has delegated responsibility for
  developing the seven strategic science themes to
  SISB.
• Strategy development panels for each theme.
• Forecasting and mitigation of natural hazards
• Environment, pollution and human health
• Biodiversity
• Climate systems
• Sustainable use of natural resources
• plus two cross-cutting themes
• Earth System Science
• Technologies

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Previous Biodiversity Research
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Grants Fellowships Spend 04/05
Funding primarily Terrestrial (60), Marine (25)
and Freshwater (11)
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Current NERC Biodiversity Research

• In 04/05
• 13.2m on biodiversity component of 530 Grants
  Fellowships (using ENRIs)
• 8.3m on biodiversity component of 874
  Studentships.
• 2.3m (net) on biodiversity programme of CEH
• 1.17 to CPB 90k to PopNet (rising to 500k)
• Uncertain amounts to BAS and Marine Centres
• Subscriptions to Diversitas, GBIF, EuroDIVERSITY,
  GLOBEC and other small grants.

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Biodiversity Strategy Development Panel

• Chair Georgina Mace.
• The origin, maintenance and management of
  biodiversity in the natural world, the risks to
  biodiversity from human impacts, including
  climate change and environmental change, and the
  opportunities and benefits presented by a rich
  and diverse natural environment.

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Biodiversity Strategy Development Panel
2 overarching outcomes

• Reducing the rate of loss of biodiversity
• Quantifying and communicating the benefits of
  biodiversity to the economy and society to
  influence policy

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Biodiversity Challenges

• New tools for discovery, assessment, and linking
  identity to function.
• New (e.g.) molecular approaches to rapidly assess
  and understand biodiversity, and functions of
  organisms, populations, species and/or
  communities.
• Measuring abundance and distribution.
• Development of a coherent set of measures of
  biodiversity across taxa, scales and ecosystems.
• Whole ecosystems biodiversity functions and
  resilience.
• The relationships between biodiversity and both
  ecosystem function and resilience.

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Biodiversity Challenges

• Biodiversity and ecosystems in the face of
  environmental change.
• The effects of environmental change on genes,
  populations species and communities.
• Biodiversity for life support.
• Measuring and predicting the impact of
  biodiversity on human well being.
• Valuation of biodiversity.
• Development of an objective method to directly
  and indirectly estimate the value of biodiversity

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Science Drivers Challenges

• Bioinformatics, data management and distributed
  computing
• Long term survey, long term experimentation.
• Systematics and taxonomy
• Poor knowledge of marine and freshwater
  biodiversity (compared with terrestrial)
• Local and regional linkages
• Understanding of the role of microorganisms

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Key areas for policy makers

• Environmental limits (tipping points)
• Soils
• Urban biodiversity
• Impacts of agri-environment schemes

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Strategy Development Panels
Key
Hazards EPHH Biodiversity
Climate System SUNR Earth System
Science Technologies

• Common themes and issues
• Multidisciplinary science
• The importance of collaboration with scientists
  in other disciplines
• The barriers to funding multidisciplinary science
  in responsive mode.
• Concern about future competencies and
  capabilities in the core sciences esp. maths,
  stats, physics and chemistry.

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Strategy Development Panels

• Common themes and issues
• Survey and monitoring.
• Need for long term monitoring / data sets.
• Low cost and robust sensors.
• Quantitative remote sensing.
• Data management.
• Improved management of data sets.
• Better tools to analyse data.
• Better access to a wide variety of data sets.

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Strategy Development Panels

• Common themes and issues
• Modelling
• Software models are used in much of NERC
  research.
• Understanding and communicating uncertainty.
• Omics research
• High throughput technologies.
• Better storage and retrieval of this data.
• Funding through responsive mode
• The importance of fundamental science.
• Difficulty of funding applied science through
  responsive mode.
• Problems of funding long term programmes through
  short term grants.

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Strategy Development Panels

• Next steps
• Recommendations to SISB - 11/12 July 2006.
• SISBs overall recommendations go to Council in
  September 2006.
• Results will inform discussions on CSR2007 with
  DGSI in October 2006.
• Draft Strategy will be open to consultation.
• Publish Strategy mid 2007

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Potential Collaboration

• Diversitas
• BRAG
• EPBRS
• EU Framework 7
• BiodivERsA Porto Meeting May 4th 06

• Porto any common biodiversity research call
  should
• Provide added value both at European and National
  levels
• Help solve problems in the real world while
  also providing scope for basic research and the
  development of innovative and/or
  interdisciplinary approaches
• Be likely to result in successful collaboration/
  building on existing strengths
• Not be limited to particular ecosystems
• Implement agreed international and European
  research priorities.

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NERC Strategy Development
Questions?