BESS Launch 2012
Posted on 29 June 2012
Over 90 stakeholders attended the launch of the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (BESS) research programme on the 22nd June at the Royal Over-Seas League, London. Among those that attended were many scientists, land managers and policy practitioners representing around 65 organisations.
Introductory talks were given by the Director of the Living with Environmental Change (LWEC) programme, Professor Andrew Watkinson and the Director of BESS, Professor David Raffaelli. Presentations were also given by key stakeholders on the importance of BESS to their organisations, including Natural England, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Ecosystem Markets Task Force.
The launch event was aimed at promoting and building links between the research programme and the stakeholder community. Key to the success of the launch was the afternoon interactive workshop where all attendees were able to participate in knowledge exchange to discuss and identify key targets for research outcomes, impact and collaboration.
BESS is a five year (2011-2015) Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) programme being directed by the Environment Department at the University of York. It aims to improve our scientific understanding of the role of biodiversity in key ecosystem processes while developing a thriving, interdisciplinary scientific community undertaking research related to biodiversity and ecosystem services. For more information about BESS, see http://www.nerc-bess.net/