1 June 2012
Dundee academic appointed to national biodiversity committee
Professor Terry Dawson, SAGES Chair in Global Environmental Change at the University of Dundee, has been appointed to a new national panel representing the UK on matters of biodiversity.
He is one of 15 scientists and geographers from across the country selected for the UK National Committee for Biodiversity, which will advise on matters related to biodiversity and represent the UK in the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystems (IPBES) and other International biodiversity initiatives.
Professor Dawson will bring his expertise in modelling and mapping future climate impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services to the committee.
He said, "With mounting pressures on our natural environment from global population growth and associated habitat loss and climatic change, it is imperative that the International community pool their collective knowledge and data to stem the rapidly increasing worldwide biodiversity losses.
"I am very pleased to be associated with this international initiative that establishes a scientifically independent and credible platform to support multilateral policy-making for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services , which are essential for human wellbeing."
The body has been established by the Royal Society’s Global Environmental Research Committee (GERC), which provides a unified forum for integrating the scientific development of the UK into international programmes such as the IPBES.
The committee will draw on and aggregate current research to advise policy makers in both the UK and internationally. Membership was drawn from a wide range of expertise and represents universities, the Government, NGOs, and other institutions.
The IPBES is similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in that it focuses on building an interface that aims to build capacity for, and strengthen the use of, science in policy making towards the sustainable management of biodiversity and ecosystem services.
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