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IEEM South East of England Shadow Section Conference Great Crested Newts - An Approach for the Future? (Licensing and Mitigation in the South East of England) Date and Time: 5 March 2010, 10 am - 4 pm Venue: Cockcroft Hall, Brighton University, Lewes Road, Brighton This conference will focus on great crested newt conservation, specifically through the licensing process, i.e. how can we best use the legal protection currently in place to maximize conservation gain for GCNs (and for a wider range of species and habitats). There will be advice from Natural England on the licensing process, and details of case studies illustrating good examples of biodiversity conservation. The conference will be led by IEEM South East of England Shadow Section in collaboration with Brighton University and will include the speakers presenting a range of perspectives on this issue, including Natural England Wildlife Management Licensing Unit, NGOs and consultancies. There will also be a workshop session which will aim to find ways to better resolve specific issues experienced by practitioners in this field. For more information please contact Ben Benatt (bena...@halcrow.com). To book a place at the conference please visit www.fugawi.co.uk/bookings.php?ID=27 Full programme and further information available from www.ieem.net/conferences.asp. ________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ IEEM Conference: Ecosystem Services Date and Time: 24 March 2010, 09:30 - 17:00 Venue: Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, Euston, London WC1H 9BD Keynote speaker: Defra Chief Scientist, Professor Bob Watson. Humans benefit from a plethora of processes and resources that are supplied by natural ecosystems. Collectively, these are known as ecosystem services and include products like clean drinking water and processes such as the decomposition of wastes. These services were popularised and their definitions formalised by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. This grouped ecosystem services into four broad categories: provisioning, such as the production of food and water; regulating, such as the control of climate and disease; supporting, such as nutrient cycles and crop pollination; and cultural, such as spiritual and recreational benefits. The impacts of the use and abuse of these ecosystem services are becoming evermore apparent - air and water quality are increasingly compromised, oceans are being over-fished, pests and diseases are extending beyond their historical boundaries, and deforestation is eliminating flood control around human settlements. Consequently, society is coming to realise that ecosystem services are not only threatened and limited, but that the pressure to compromise between immediate and long-term human needs is urgent. To help inform decision-makers, economic value is increasingly associated with many ecosystem services. The on-going challenge of prescribing economic value to nature is prompting shifts in how we recognise and manage the environment. Speakers will present the application of ecosystem services evaluation into mainstream ecological practice. Examples of recent case studies from the terrestrial, marine and freshwater environments will be covered. For more information and to book a place please visit the IEEM website http://www.ieem.net/ieemspringconference2010.asp Penny Green Species Officer Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre http://sxbrc.org.uk | 01273 497521 Sussex Wildlife Trust is a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Act. Registered in England, Company No. 698851. Registered Charity No. 207005. VAT Registration No. 191 305969. Registered Office: Woods Mill, Henfield, West Sussex BN5 9SD. Telephone 01273 492630
