Research News
Living with Environmental Change
The new Living with Environmental Change programme (LWEC), launched in July 2008 will transform how researchers, government and the public interact to tackle the challenges the world faces and develop the understanding needed to develop an environment that ensures a sustainable supply of food and water.
The programme will look at climate change; loss of biodiversity; the availability of sustainable water and food supplies; preparing for and managing extreme events; protecting people, animals and plants from disease; and alleviating poverty in developing countries. It recognises that climate change is only one part of a much bigger challenge: global environmental change caused by rapid economic and population growth. The programme is a partnership of 17 research, business and policy-making organisations including DFID which have come together to find ways to adapt to global changes.
Professor Andrew Watkinson, currently Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and a Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia will be the Director for this ambitious UK programme. Professor Watkinson is an expert on interdisciplinary aspects of climate change, ecology and coastal zone management, and on how science informs policy. He is also currently Chair of the NERC/ESRC/DFID advisory committee on Ecosystem Services and Poverty Alleviation, an initiative that will form part of the LWEC programme.
Professor Watkinson said, "Society is facing a range of challenges including climate change, population growth, globalisation and technological change. What I hope is that LWEC will play a vital part in securing the future wellbeing of the people and economy of the UK by providing the evidence base to inform policy debate and people's choices. I have no doubt that leading this partnership will itself be very challenging, but I am eager to start driving it forward."
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