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SUMMARY:Ecology\, Politics & Policy
DESCRIPTION:Professor Sir John Lawton\, Chairman\, Royal Commission on Envi
 ronmental Pollution\, presents this lecture\; “Ecology\, Politics and Po
 licy”\nAbstract: ”The British Ecological Society aims to promote the 
 science of ecology through research and the use of such research to educat
 e the public and influence policy decisions which involve ecological matte
 rs.” So goes the Society’s statement in its annual accounts. The itali
 cs are mine. How successful have ecologists been in influencing UK and EU 
 environmental policy? Many scientists hold to the ‘deficit model’ of t
 urning science into policy\, the view that is only politicians are told wh
 at the science reveals\, ‘correct’ policies will automatically follow.
  Nothing can be further from the truth. Politicians have all kinds of rea
 sons\, some valid\, some less valid\, not to adopt what often seem to us t
 o be common sense policies to protect the environment. This lecture will e
 xplore the successes and failures of ecologists to influence UK and Europ
 ean environmental policy\, and review the extensive literature (largely ig
 nored by scientists) on the sociology of evidence-based policy making.\nBi
 ography: John Lawton trained as a zoologist at the University of Durham\, 
 where he completed his PhD in 1969.  From Durham he moved to be Demonstra
 tor in Ecology in the Department of Zoology at Oxford for three years\, be
 fore moving to the Biology Department at the University of York in 1971. 
  He was awarded a Personal Chair in York in 1985.  In 1989 he founded\, a
 nd was appointed Director of\, the NERC Centre for Population Biology at I
 mperial College\, Silwood Park\, where he remained until 1999.  He took u
 p the post as Chief Executive of the Natural Environment Research Council 
 in October 1999\, from which he retired in March 2005. He is currently Cha
 irman of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution.\nHis scientific 
 interests are wide\, but have focussed on the population dynamics and biod
 iversity of birds and insects\, with emphasis over the last decade of the 
 impacts of global environmental change on wild plants and animals.  He ha
 s published over 320 scientific papers (including 17 in Nature and 7 in Sc
 ience) and written or edited six books and symposium volumes\; he is among
  the most highly cited ecologists and environmental biologists in the worl
 d.\nDuring his career he has served on a wide range of committees and bodi
 es\, including the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution\, the Tarma
 c Environmental Advisory Panel\, and the Councils of the British Ecologica
 l Society (BES)\, Freshwater Biological Association\, NERC\, and the Royal
  Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).  He was Chairman of RSPB for
  five years and is currently a Vice President of both RSPB and the British
  Trust for Ornithology\, a Trustee of WWF-UK and President of the British 
 Ecological Society. \nAwards and honours include the President’s Gold M
 edal of the BES\, the ECI Prize Winner 1996 for Terrestrial Ecology\, the 
 BES Marsh Award for Ecology\, the Kempe Award for Distinguished Ecologists
 \, the Frink Medal of the Institute of Zoology\, the Society for Conservat
 ion Biology’s Edward T. LaRoe III Memorial Award\, the Japan Prize for C
 onservation of Biodiversity\, Honorary Life Memberships of the Royal Entom
 ological Society and the Game Conservancy Trust\, and the Ramon Margalef P
 rize for Ecolgy. He has held\, or currently holds\, honorary positions in 
 the Institute of Ecosystem Studies\, New York\, the Natural History Museum
 \, London\, the Department of Biology at the University of York\, the Impe
 rial College of Science\, Technology and Medicine\, and the Institute of A
 rable Crops Research\, Rothamsted.\nHe has Honorary Degrees from the Unive
 rsities of Aberdeen\, Birmingham\, East Anglia\, Lancaster and York\, and 
 the Fellowship of Imperial College.\nHe was elected Fellow of the Royal So
 ciety in 1989\, awarded the CBE in 1997\, and Knighted for his services to
  Ecological Science in 2005.\nJohn is married to Dot and has two grown up 
 children and 5 grandchildren. In his recreation time he enjoys birdwatchin
 g\, botanising and bug-hunting\, natural-history photography\, travel\, wa
 lking\, gardening\, cooking and recovering from playing with his grandchil
 dren.\n \n                               
                                      
                                      
                                      
                                      
                                      
                           
URL:https://www.imperial.ac.uk/events/114877/ecology-politics-policy/
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20070627T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20070627T190000
LOCATION:United Kingdom
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