Living With Environmental Change
Pilot Review Scheme - Objective B
Announcement of Opportunity
Call has now closed
Introduction
The Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) are pleased to welcome applications to conduct pilot reviews to better understand existing data and highlight trends and gaps in our knowledge of managing ecosystems for human well-being and how to protect the natural environment as the environment changes.
Living With Environmental Change (LWEC) is one of six of the Research Council's cross council research programmes. It is a ten year programme designed by many partners and is made up of existing research, new programmes and schemes. LWEC will bring together researchers from across the different disciplines in the natural, engineering, economic, social, medical, cultural, arts, and humanities. It will engage with businesses, government bodies, NGOs and the public to understand the research colleges the social and economic implications of environmental change. The programme is governed by a Partners' board consisting of the different funding partners. The Director of the programme is Professor Andrew Watkinson.
Defra and the NERC are seeking applicants to compile pilot reviews on areas relating to LWEC Objective B, to manage ecosystems for human well-being and protect the natural environment as the environment changes. It is intended that these reviews will outline the existing data and highlight the trends and gaps in knowledge.
Awards
Applications can be made for up to £15,000 for each review. It is anticipated that awards will be conducted from a period of 2 March 2009 and end 30 April 2009. The final product of the review will be a written report to be submitted within 1 month of the end date. The pilot reviews will be assessed by the LWEC Partners' Board and those most relevant will be considered for full Systematic Review.
Eligibility/Requirements
This call is open to UK researchers eligible for NERC directed funding and UK organisations that are eligible for Defra research funding. NERC's funding web pages can provide further guidance with respect to eligibility for UK applicants.
Applications should fall within LWEC Objective B, to manage ecosystems for human well-being and protect the natural environment as the environment changes. We are keen to support activities that cover both aspects of Objective B. These include the assessment of links and feedbacks between the natural environment, ecosystem services and human well-being; how these might continue to develop within environmental limits in the face of major environmental change; and how decision-making and local and national planning can take account of these links and feedbacks to help in the development of new social, environmental and economic opportunities.
Example Review areas therefore include:
- Multifunctionality of landscapes
- How can we best institutionalise adaptive management of ecosystem services?
- Counterfactual studies of ecosystem services
- How could we increase effectiveness of regulating ecosystem services
- Valuing ecosystem services delivered from several sources
- Balancing positive and negative aspects of ecosystem services
- Linking targets and indicators to ecosystem services
- Resilience of ecosystems and ecosystem services
- Eliciting individual and collective action/responsibility to secure dispersed ecosystem benefits
- Public understanding of different aspects of the ecosystem approach
- Cultural and non-monetary values of ecosystem services
- The factors affecting consideration of environmental change in decision making
- Social and economic opportunities from ecosystem service management
- The role that qualitative and quantitative environmental information plays in decision making
- Understanding what makes environmental evidence tangible and important to decision makers
- How changes to cultural ecosystem services affect human wellbeing
How to apply
The closing date for applications is 16:00 on 20 February 2009 via the paper application form.
Supporting documents
For further information please contact Dr Nichola Badcock - Living With Environmental Change Coordinator.
External links
