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New centre of excellence in environmental sustainability for Aberdeen

27 November 2003

A proposal for a new Aberdeen Centre for Environmental Sustainability (ACES) has today been given the go ahead by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), one of the partners in the initiative. NERC's Council welcomed the vision of the new centre at its Council meeting in Aberdeen this morning.

The Centre will combine the strengths of three high-profile research institutions in the Aberdeen area - NERC's Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) Banchory, the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute and the University of Aberdeen.

NERC Chairman Rob Margetts said, "ACES has the potential to become a world-class centre of excellence in tackling environmental conflict. It's a tremendous opportunity for the three organisations to seek to ensure sustainable solutions to pressing global problems and we are all keen to get started on this exciting new venture."

The three partners propose to bring together their expertise in land-use, ecology and socio-economics into interdisciplinary teams, aiming to resolve conflicting demands on the environment in a sustainable way.

Detailed discussions will now begin in earnest between the three organisations. Outline plans have already been shared, such as basing the new centre at the Macaulay site. Further talks are needed to confirm the location, determine the resources needed to set up the new centre and agree the nature of the contribution from each of the partners.

Professor Dominic Houlihan, Vice Principal (Research & Commercialisation) at the University of Aberdeen, said, "We are delighted to be part of this tripartite initiative which would bring real value to the city and the region."

His comments were echoed by Professor Maggie Gill, Director of the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, who added "We expect the initiative to bring new jobs and international experts in the environmental sciences to the city in the years to come."

Further information

Angela Ferguson
Senior Communications Officer
University of Aberdeen
Tel: 01224 272960

Chris York
Press Officer
Macaulay Land Use Research Institute
Tel: 01224 498235

NERC Press Office
Natural Environment Research Council
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1EU
Tel: 01793 411561
Mob: 07917 557215

Notes

1. The University of Aberdeen is one of Scotland's great institutions. It is Scotland's third oldest university, founded in 1495. Today, more than ever, Aberdeen is a university internationally renowned for the quality of its teaching and research. The University currently has a turnover approaching £130m per annum. The University employs more than 3,200 staff and currently has more than 13,000 matriculated students. The University Court has yet to approve the proposals.

2. The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute is a sponsored body of the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department. The Institute undertakes research on the management of rural land resources for the benefit of people and the environment and is based in Aberdeen.

3. The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is one of the UK's research councils. It uses a budget of about £270m a year to fund and carry out impartial scientific research in the sciences of the environment. NERC trains the next generation of independent environmental scientists. It is addressing some of the key questions facing mankind such as global warming, renewable energy and sustainable economic development.

4. The Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) is one of NERC's Research Centres. It incorporates scientific expertise across a range of disciplines including environmental microbiology and virology, terrestrial and freshwater ecology, and hydrology. Its research is aimed at improving our understanding of both the environment and the processes that underlie the Earth's support systems. CEH is particularly interested in the impacts of human activity on natural environments.

Press release: 25/03

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