Natural Capital Initiative

Organising Partners

The NCI is a partner of the International Year of Biodiversity

Speakers

The following speakers and session chairs took part in the Valuing our Life Support Systems symposium;

Dr Melanie Austen, Head of Science: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function, Plymouth Marine Lab
Dr Melanie Austen is Head of Science for Biodiversity and Sustainable Ecosystems, one of three research programmes at Plymouth Marine Laboratory. She has worked as a marine ecologist at PML since 1987 .She now leads interdisciplinary research that integrates marine biodiversity, ecosystem modelling and environmental economics.	From 2000-2004 she led the EU funded project: Costing the Impact of Demersal Fishing on Marine Ecosystem Processes and Biodiversity. In 2003 she instigated and is still leading the research theme "Socioeconomic importance of biodiversity" within the EU funded Network of Excellence Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning (MarBEF), and she is on the MarBEF steering committee.

Mark Bailey is Science Director for the Biodiversity Programme at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH). CEH, part of the Natural Environment Research Council, is the UK's Centre of Excellence for integrated research in land and freshwater ecosystems and their interaction with the atmosphere. Mark is recognised as a pioneer in the field of molecular microbial ecology and his research interests include soil microbiology and genetics, particularly the factors that link ecosystem function with diversity. He is a

visiting Professor at Cardiff, Newcastle and Sheffield Universities and a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiologists. Mark is about to complete 10 years as a member of the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment and is on the board of trustees for Rothamsted Research and the National Biodiversity Network. He chairs the UK Environmental Change Network and is responsible for the delivery of the 2007 Countryside Survey of Great Britain.

Professor Sir John Beddington, Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government
Professor John Beddington was appointed as Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) on 1 January 2008. Since 2001, he has also been a Fellow of the Royal Society. John's main research interests are the application of biological and economic analysis to problems of Natural Resource Management including: fisheries, pest control, wildlife management and the control of disease. He started his	academic career at the University of York, and has been at Imperial College since 1984, where he headed the main departments dealing with environmental science and technology. He was Professor of Applied Population Biology at Imperial until his appointment as GCSA. He was for six years a member of the Natural Environment Research Council.

Richard Brown became Chief Executive of Eurostar in August 2002, since when he has turned around its performance, delivering record passenger numbers and punctuality, and successfully launching the first high speed passenger service in Britain.

He was previously Commercial Director of National Express Group plc, where he set up its UK Trains Division, at the time the largest UK passenger franchise operator. He has spent 30 years in the transport industry, and was a Director of British Rail’s Intercity Division before privatisation.

He is currently President of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, and Chairman of the Railway Forum.

He was educated at Cambridge, University College, London, and Harvard. He is married with three grown up children and enjoys sailing, skiing, walking and gardening.

Andrew Clark, Head of Policy Services, National Farmers Union
Andrew Clark has worked in the NFU's headquarters since January 1993.He is the NFU's Head of Policy Services managing a team of 28 across Economics, Environment, Science/Regulatory affairs and Legal disciplines. Prior to his appointment in March 2005, he was the NFU's Chief Environment Adviser with specialist policy interest in	biodiversity, public access and landscape conservation policy. Before joining the NFU he worked with Hertfordshire County Council as a Landscape Officer administering the County's amenity tree planting scheme. Andrew grew up on a hop and fruit farm in Worcestershire and is a Chartered Landscape Architect.

Barrie Clarke, Water UK
Barrie Clarke is the Director of Communication at Water UK, which	represents UK water and wastewater service suppliers at national and European level

John Clorley, Head of the Marine Biodiversity Team, Defra

Gretchen Daily is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, she is the author of many articles and editor of one of the most widely cited publications in modern environmental science, Nature’s Services.

Daily, an ecologist whose work ranges from conservation science to environmental policy analysis to public outreach, is one of three founders of the Natural Capital Project and serves as its chief emissary to financial and
government leaders. She is working to develop a scientific basis - and political and

institutional support - for managing Earth's life-support systems. Daily has published more than 150 scientific and popular articles. Her most recent book is The New Economy of Nature: The Quest to Make Conservation Profitable, coauthored with journalist Katherine Ellison (2002, Island Press). She serves on the boards of The Nature Conservancy and the Beijer International Institute for Ecological Economics, and at Stanford she is Director of the Center for Conservation Biology.

Philip Esler became Chief Executive of the AHRC in September 2005. In 1984 he was awarded a D Phil from the University of Oxford (Magdalen College). His thesis was in the New Testament area and applied social-scientific ideas to Luke’s Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. He has published very extensively, particularly in the social-scientific analysis of New Testament and other biblical and apocryphal texts, and in New Testament theology. He also has a recent monograph in the area of the Bible and the visual arts co-authored with a British artist.

Before becoming an academic, Professor Esler worked for 10 years as a litigation solicitor and then a barrister in Australia. In October 1992 he moved, with his family, to St. Andrews, where he took up a position as Reader in New Testament.

He was promoted to Professor of Biblical Criticism in St Andrews University in September 1995 and more recently served as its Vice-Principal for Research. He sat on the Board of Scottish Enterprise Fife in a personal capacity from 1999 to 2003.

Fiona is the Science Media Centre's founding director. In the initial stages of the project she consulted with leading scientists and key journalists in science, health and environmental news before establishing the core values on which the Centre now operates. Since then she has worked tirelessly to establish the Centre as an invaluable asset to both the scientific and journalistic communities in the UK.

Fiona has a degree in Journalism and 15 years experience in media relations. She held the position of Senior Press Officer for the Equal Opportunities Commission for six

years, followed by two years running the media operation at the National Council for One Parent Families.

A total change of environment followed as Fiona became Head of Media at CAFOD, one of the UK's leading aid agencies. She founded the Jubilee 2000 press group, which helped to force serious Third World issues onto the media and political agendas. Fiona is an experienced public speaker and a trained journalist, who has written extensively for newspapers and publications, authored several policy papers and contributed to books on humanitarian aid.

Maggie Gill was appointed to the new post of Chief Scientific Adviser to the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department in February 2006 for 80% of her time, spending the remaining 20% as Professor of Integrated Land Use in the College of Physical Sciences in the University of Aberdeen. With the post election changes within the Scottish Government she is now Chief Scientific Adviser for Rural Affairs and the Environment.
Prior to this posting, Maggie was Chief Executive and Director of Research at the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute in Aberdeen (2000-2006). Before that, she was Chief Executive of Natural Rescources International Ltd. (1996-2000); a company owned by 4 universities which was "spun out" of the privatisation of the Natural Resources Institue (NRI), an Executive Agency of the Overseas Development Administration (now the Department for International Development).

Maggie’s career has included both research and research management starting with livestock production and moving on to the interface between agriculture and the environment and natural resource management issues. Her research has included collaboration with scientists in Australasia, North America and a number of developing countries.

Rosie Hails chairs the Natural Capital Initiative steering group and is a Section Head at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, which is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council. She was involved in some of the first experiments on genetically modified plants in natural habitats, and is currently developing risk assessment protocols centred on population modelling.
Rosie has worked at the interface between science and policy as a member of the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission. She chairs the IoB/BSF environment, agriculture and sustainability committee.

She is currently a member of the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment which advises UK government on scientific matters relating to genetically modified plants and non-native plants and animals, and a member of the Environment Working group for the European Food Safety Authority. She is a Fellow of St Anne’s College, Oxford, a research associate of Oxford University and a visiting professor at Oxford Brookes University. She was awarded an MBE for services to environmental research in June 2000.

Professor Roy Haines-Young, Profesor of Environmental Management, School of Geography, University of Nottingham
Roy is Professor in Environmental Management and Director of the Centre for Environmental Management (CEM), University of Nottingham, and formerly led the Environmental Science and Policy Group (ESPG) within the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH). Although trained as a natural scientist, he has sought to develop a stronger social	content in his recent work. He has worked extensively with the policy makers in Central Government and it agencies, and recognises the need to develop a science that is responsive to the wider public debates about environmental issues. He is adviser for environmental issues to research councils, but also Governmental Agencies.

Professor Sir David King, University of Oxford
Sir David King is the Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford. He was the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser and Head of the Government Office of Science from October 2000 to 31 December 2007. In that time, he raised the profile of the need for governments to act on climate change and was instrumental in creating the new £1 billion Energy Technologies Institute. In 2008 he co-authored “The Hot Topic” (Bloomsbury 2008) on this subject. As Director of the Government’s Foresight Programme, he created an in-depth horizon scanning process which advised government on a wide range of long term issues, from flooding to obesity. He also chaired the government’s Global Science and Innovation Forum from its inception. He advised government on issues including: The foot-and-mouth disease epidemic 2001; post 9/11 risks to the UK; GM foods; energy provision; and innovation and wealth creation; and he	was heavily involved in the Government’s Science and Innovation Strategy 2004-2014. He was born in South Africa in 1939, and after an early career at the University of Witwatersrand, Imperial College and the University of East Anglia, he became the Brunner Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Liverpool in 1974. In 1988 he was appointed 1920 Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Cambridge and subsequently became Master of Downing College (1995 – 2000) and Head of the University Chemistry Department (1993 – 2000). He has published over 450 papers on his research in chemical physics and on science and policy, and has received numerous prizes, Fellowships and Honorary Degrees. He continues as Director of Research in the Department of Chemistry at Cambridge University, and is currently President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

Gearóid Lane is leading a new business unit called British Gas New Energy (BGNE) within Centrica plc. The purpose of BGNE is to develop a market leading business in low carbon energy services; delivering advice, products and services to residential and business customers. Mr. Lane is a Chartered Gas Engineer, holds a Master's degree in Engineering Science from the National University of Ireland (University College Galway), a First Class Honours primary degree in Mechanical Engineering from the same university, and has an MBA from Henley Management College.

He was also responsible for developing weather hedging activities in Centrica, and serves as Board Member and past President of the Weather Risk Management Association. He also served for several years as a member of the Renewables Advisory Board, an independent body which provides advice to Government on a wide range of renewable energy issues. He is a Director of the Energy Saving Trust, a non-profit organisation promoting the sustainable and efficient use of energy, water conservation and waste reduction.

Before joining Centrica, Gearóid Lane worked for its predecessor British Gas plc since 1992. He worked on analysis, negotiation, commercial development and subsequent part disposal of British Gas' investment in Phoenix Natural Gas in Northern Ireland. He also worked in a variety of roles relating to British Gas' international and domestic activities. Prior to joining British Gas, Mr. Lane worked in an engineering consultancy business in Ireland, carrying out studies for a variety of industrial clients worldwide.

Professor Paul Leonard, Environmental Consultant
Paul Leonard BSc (Hons), MSRP, CRadP, CBiol, FIBiol, CSci, CMarSci, FIMarEST, FLS is an environmental consultant, based near London and has worked in core government departments and scientific institutions for nearly 40 years. He is a member of the Natural Capital Initiative Steering Group and has specialised in the delivery of science–based evidence to meet policy needs, primarily in the aquatic	environment. He has a long-term interest in the design and management of aquatic environmental monitoring programmes from point and diffuse sources. His work has included science audits, advising on the adequacy of current operations and future needs at government laboratories and industry. He is a registered Expert Witness and member of the UK Environmental Law Association.

Professor Philip Lowe OBE, Director, Rural Economy and Land Use programme of the UK Research Councils
Philip Lowe is Director of the Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) Programme of the UK Research Councils. For his contribution to the rural economy he was appointed OBE in 2003. He has been a leading figure in the development of interdisciplinary rural studies in the UK. In 1992, he founded the Centre for Rural Economy at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, where he holds the	Duke of Northumberland Chair of Rural Economy. He has played an active role in rural policy development at the national and European levels and in the North of England. He is a member of the Science Advisory Council of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and currently chairs Defra’s Vets and Veterinary Services Working Group.

Robert McCredie May, Lord May of Oxford, OM AC Kt FRS, holds a Professorship jointly at Oxford University and Imperial College, London and is a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. He was until recently President of The Royal Society (2000-2005), and before that Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government and Head of the UK Office of Science and Technology (1995-2000). He is a Foreign Member of the US National Academy of Sciences, an Overseas Fellow of the Australian Academy of Sciences, and an Honorary Fellow of various other Academies and Learned Societies.

His career includes a Personal Chair in Physics at Sydney University, Class of 1877 Professor of Zoology and Chairman of the Research Board at Princeton, and in 1988 a move to Britain as Royal Society Research Professor. Particular interests include how populations are structured and respond to change, particularly with respect to infectious diseases and biodiversity.

In 2007 he received the Royal Society’s Copley Medal, a prestigious award given annually for “outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science”. He was awarded a Knighthood in 1996, and appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1998, both for “Services to Science”. In 2001 he was one of the first 15 Life Peers created by the “House of Lords Appointments Commission”. In 2002, The Queen appointed him to the Order of Merit. Other honours include: the Royal Swedish Academy’s Crafoord Prize, the Swiss-Italian Balzan Prize and the Japanese Blue Planet Prize.

Elliot Morley was born in Liverpool in 1952. He taught from 1975-1987 as head of Special Needs Greatfield High School Hull. From 1979 to 1985 he was Hull City Councillor. In 1987 he gained the marginal constituency of Glanford and Scunthorpe as an MP, and was a member of the Select Committee on Agriculture from 1987-89. He then went on to hold a number of parliamentary positions, including Shadow Minister for Fisheries, Countryside & Animal Welfare (1989-1997), Minister for Fisheries, Animal Health & Welfare & the Countryside Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food, (1997-2001), Minister for Fisheries, Water & Nature Protection Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (2001-2003), Minister for Environment & Agri-Environment (2003-2005), Minister for Environment & Climate Change (2005-2006). In 2006 he was appointed Prime Ministers Special Representative to the Gleneagles Dialogue on Climate Change.

Elliot Morley is also a former member of the Councils of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the British Trust for Ornithology, Honorary President of the North Lincolnshire Royal Society for the Protection of Animals and President & Chair GLOBE International 2006.

His other interests include ornithology, nature conservation, global biodiversity, countryside issues, travel, wildlife photography, diving and environmental issues. He is married with two children.

Lucy Neville-Rolfe, CMG, was appointed Executive Director (Corporate and Legal Affairs) of Tesco Plc in December 2006. Since she joined Tesco it has moved from its core UK grocery roots into non-food, services and overseas markets from the Far East to the United States.

Lucy joined Tesco in 1997 as Group Director of Corporate Affairs and from 2004 – 2006 was also Company Secretary. Until 1997 she worked in a number of Government departments. She was a member of the Prime Minister’s Policy Unit in 10 Downing Street from 1992 – 1994 where her responsibilities included home and legal affairs. She started her career in DEFRA (then MAFF) where her roles included Private Secretary to the Minister, early greening of the department and the Food Safety Act 1990.

Lucy is Chairman of Dobbies Garden Centres, Deputy Chairman of the British Retail Consortium and a member of the CBI Economics Committee. She is also a member of China Britain Business Council, UK India Business Council, The Carbon Trust, BERR’s EU Strategy Advisory Group and the Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change. Lucy was awarded the CMG in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2005 in recognition of her contribution as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. She read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Somerville College, Oxford where she is an Honorary Fellow. She is married with 4 sons.

Professor O’Riordan is Emeritus Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia. He is a Deputy Lieutenant of the County and Norfolk, and a Fellow of the British Academy. He holds an MA in Geography from the University of Edinburgh, an MS in Water Resources Engineering from Cornell University, and a PhD in Geography from the University of Cambridge.

He has edited a number of key books on the institutional aspects of global environmental change, policy and practice, led two international research projects on the transition to sustainability in the European Union (1995-2002) and edited two editions of the text book, Environmental Science for Environmental Management.

Professor O’Riordan is a member of the UK Sustainable Development Commission and of the East of England Sustainable Development Round Table.

His research deals with the themes associated with better governance for sustainability. He is also active in the

evolution of sustainability science partnerships. His direct work relates to designing future coastlines in East Anglia in England so that they are ready for sea level rise and the creation of sound economies and societies for a sustainable future.

His other interests include playing classical double bass in a Norwich orchestra which he has managed for over 25 years.

Helen Philips was appointed Natural England’s first Chief Executive in February 2006 by the Secretary of State. She is also a member of Natural England’s Board and is the Accounting Officer of both Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. In leading the Executive, Helen has overall responsibility for the performance of Natural England. Before taking up her current appointment, she was the Director of Environment Agency, Wales.

Helen was appointed for her track record in leading organisational change, to create a high performing organisation where pursuit of efficiency programmes will deliver increased investment in the natural environment.

Natural England aspires to be the environmental commentator of choice, and Helen's trenchant advocacy in her role as CEO will be key to achieving this.

A post doctoral graduate of University College Dublin in zoology, Helen’s career spans biology in academia to leadership roles in the National Rivers Authority and the Environment Agency.

Nick Pidgeon is Professor of Applied Psychology at Cardiff University. His research looks at how public attitudes, public trust and institutional responses form a part of the dynamics of a range of environmental risk controversies, including those of Nuclear Power, Climate Change and GM Agriculture.

Professor Pidgeon has led numerous policy oriented projects on issues of risk and ‘science in society’ for government departments, the research councils and charities. From October 2008 he took up a 3 year ESRC Professorial Climate Leader Fellowship. For further informationon his research group, see www.understanding-risk.org

Chris Pollock was Director of the Institute of Grassland and Environment Research from 1993-2007. Chris read botany at Cambridge and has a PhD and DSc from Birmingham. Chris joined IGER in 1974 and has held a number of research and management positions. More recently, Chris has been involved nationally in agriculture and land use. He chaired the BBSRC Review Group on Sustainable Agriculture and Land Use, the Scientific Steering Committee for the farm-scale evaluations of GM crops, the Defra Research Priorities Group for Sustainable Farming and Food and the Agriculture, Food and Veterinary Science panel for the 2008 University Research Assessment Exercise.

He has recently completed a one-year post as Acting Chief Scientific Advisor to the First Minister in Wales, and he is currently an Honorary Professor at Aberystwyth University, chair of the Advisory Committee on Releases into the Environment (ACRE), and a member of BBSRC Council. Chris is a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Societies and of the Institute of Biology, a past winner of the British Grassland Society Award and was made a CBE in 2000 for services to the environment.

Professor John Shepherd FRS, Professor of Marine Sciences, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton
Professor John Shepherd MA PhD CMath FIMA FRS is an internationally recognised fisheries & climate change scientist, familiar with national marine policy issues and widely respected for his practical solutions and recommendations on sustainable fisheries. He is a Professorial Research Fellow in Earth System Science in the School of Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton, UK. He has worked on the transport of pollutants in the atmospheric boundary layer, the dispersion of tracers in the deep ocean, the assessment & control of radioactive waste disposal in the sea, on the assessment and management of marine fish stocks, and most recently on Earth System Modelling and climate change. His current research interests include the natural variability of the climate system on long time-scales, and the	development of intermediate complexity models of the Earth climate system for the interpretation of the palaeo-climate record. From 1989-1994 he was Deputy Director of the MAFF Fisheries Laboratory at Lowestoft, and the principal scientific adviser to the UK government on fisheries management. From 1994-1999 he was the first Director of the Southampton Oceanography Centre. He has extensive experience of international scientific assessments and advice in the controversial areas of fisheries management and radioactive waste disposal, and has recently taken a particular interest in the interaction between science, economics, and public policy. He is Deputy Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, and a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1999.

Professor Mark Tewdwr-Jones, Professor of Spatial Planning and Governance & Director of Research, Bartlett School of Planning, University College London

Paul van Gardingen is Professor of International Development and the Executive Director of the Edinburgh International Development Centre at the University of Edinburgh (www.eidc.ed.ac.uk). His research has involved the sustainable management of natural resources and biodiversity and their utilisation to support livelihoods and poverty reduction in developing countries covering the regions of Africa, SE Asia and Latin America. His teaching programme covers the theme of international development and he provides additional technical support to developing country governments and multilateral agencies in the application of higher education, science and technology to promote social and economic development.

His research in the early 1990s focused on biophysical and ecological components of tropical forest ecosystems to develop tools designed to promote the conservation and sustainable use of forests.

The processes leading up to the UN’s Millennium Development Goals required a major paradigm shift in research. His work now places people at the heart of their ecosystems and considers ways that they can be empowered with knowledge and skills to enhance the wellbeing of the world’s poor through sustainable and equitable approaches.

He currently is a member of the team responsible for monitoring and evaluation of Defra’s Darwin Initiative, which conducts research on biodiversity and capacity building in developing countries as a major component of the UK’s commitment to the Convention on Biological Diversity and of the Programme Advisory Committee for LWEC’s Ecosystem Services and Poverty Alleviation Programme (ESPA).

After graduating from the University of Liverpool in 1998 as a Marine Biologist, Gero Vella spent several years undertaking ecological assessments for a range of anthropogenic activities in the marine environment. Gero was introduced to the offshore renewables industry in the spring of 2000 as part of a team assessing the potential impacts of the North Hoyle offshore wind farm in Liverpool Bay. He went on to carry out environmental impact assessments on a number of offshore wind farms around the UK and Ireland and

undertook several research projects for Government on ecological issues generic to the offshore wind industry. In 2003 Gero joined a wind farm developer heading up environmental consents, where much of his time was spent gaining consent for Centrica’s Lincs offshore wind farm. He also sits on a number of liaison groups such as the Collaborative Offshore Wind Research into the Environment (COWRIE) charity, which funds research into some of the environmental challenges the industry faces.

Mark Walport is Director of the Wellcome Trust. The Wellcome Trust funds innovative biomedical research, in the UK and internationally, spending over £600 million each year to support the brightest scientists with the best ideas. He is a board member of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC), UK Research Base Funder’s Forum, Health Innovation Council and the Prime Minister's council for Science and Technology. He is also a member of a number of international advisory bodies, including the Grand Challenges in Global Health Scientific Board and the Council of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise.

Before joining the Trust he was Professor of Medicine and Head of the Division of Medicine at Imperial College London. His own research career focused on the immunology and genetics of rheumatic diseases. He chaired the Academic Careers Sub-Committee of the UKCRC and Modernising Medical Careers which reported in 2005. More recently, at the request of the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Justice, he co-chaired an with the Information Commissioner an independant review on the use and sharing of personal information in the public and private sectors.

Mark is a founder fellow, and was the first Registrar, of the Academy of Medical Sciences and an Honorary Member of the American Association of Physicians. He received a knighthood in the 2009 New Year Honours List for services to medical research.

Professor Andrew Watkinson, Director, Living with Environmental Change
Professor Andrew Watkinson was Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and a Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia where his research focused on interdisciplinary aspects of climate change, ecology and coastal zone management, with particular emphasis on how science informs policy. He trained as an ecologist at York	and the University of Wales, Bangor before moving to the University of East Anglia. He was presented in 2003 with the Marsh Award for Ecology by the British Ecological Society and is a visiting Professor at Fudan University in Shanghai. He is also Chair of the NERC/ESRC/DFID advisory committee on Ecosystem Services and Poverty Alleviation.

Professor Bob Watson, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
Professor Watson’s career has evolved from research scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory: California Institute of Technology, to a US Federal Government program manager/director at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to a scientific/policy advisor in the US Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), White House, to a scientific advisor, manager and chief scientist at the World Bank, to a Chair of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia, the Director for Strategic Direction for the Tyndall centre, and Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In parallel to his formal positions he has chaired, co-chaired or directed international scientific, technical and economic assessments of stratospheric ozone depletion, biodiversity/ecosystems (the GBA	and MA), climate change (IPCC) and agricultural S&T (IAASTD). Professor Watson’s areas of expertise include managing and coordinating national and international environmental programs, research programs and assessments; establishing science and environmental policies - specifically advising governments and civil society on the policy implications of scientific information and policy options for action; and communicating scientific, technical and economic information to policymakers. During the last twenty years he has received numerous national and international awards recognizing his contributions to science and the science-policy interface, including in 2003 - Honorary “Companion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George” from the United Kingdom.

Pat Willoughby is a chartered town planner with over 20 years experience working in both the public and private sectors. She has extensive experience of brownfield site regeneration, complex urban regeneration strategies, long-term strategic development opportunity studies and the use of compulsory purchase orders to support regeneration. She has directed the work of multi-disciplinary teams in the preparation of several regeneration strategies, most notably for North Liverpool, Rochester Riverside and Thurrock. These strategies have been used to inform development plan preparation, development control decisions, infrastructure programmes and land acquisition strategies. Pat also led DLA’s work with the five London Boroughs hosting the Olympic Games, examining legacy issues, place-making and connectivity.

For the last two years Pat has been involved with central government’s eco-town initiative,

advising a private sector client on the potential of their land to accommodate a major new settlement. She has followed the process from inception, commenting on the policy formulation, and participated in all of the various stages. In April 2008, the Marston Vale in Bedfordshire was indentified in the government’s draft Planning Policy Statement on eco-towns as one of the government’s preferred locations.

Pat was formerly an Implementation Planner with London Docklands Development Corporation and also has experience of local government with Westminster and Salford City Councils.

Pat is also a Policy Council Member of the Town and Country Planning Association, a member of the Academy of Urbanism and sits on the Editorial Panel of the ICE Journal Engineering Sustainability.

Michael is a rural policy specialist and a rural social scientist with particular interests in applying inter-disciplinary approaches to policy-relevant research and in direct engagement in the policy process. Within the University he is a member of the Climate Change and Sustainable Future Core Theme Team and of management boards for both the Sport, Leisure & Tourism for Egenis research centre. He chairs the Science Advisory Board and is a trustee of the BBSRC North Wyke Research centre; a Commissioner for the Commission for Rural Communities, formerly Chair of the South West Rural Affairs Forum, and President of Devon Rural Network.

His current research interests, among others, focus on rural policy analysis and governance with a specific focus on regionalism; sustainable agro-food systems and food security; climate change and rural land use; the historical and contemporary sociology of west country agriculture; & farmer environmental attitudes and decision-making, particularly in the context of diffuse pollution and water quality.

In 2000, he was a member of the Committee of Inquiry into Hunting with Dogs in England and Wales chaired by Lord Burns. He is a member of DEFRA’s Panel of Agricultural & Environmental Economists and the SWRDA's Panel of Economists. He is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and the Journal of Rural Enterprise and Management.

Graham Wynne, Chief Executive, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Graham Wynne joined the RSPB staff in 1987, having spent 15 years as a planner in London, concerned principally with inner city regeneration. He became Director of Conservation for the RSPB in 1989 and was appointed Chief Executive in 1998, is a member of the delivery group for the government’s	Sustainable Farming and Food Strategy and on the board of Stop Climate Chaos. He was a member of the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food, and of the government’s Sustainable Development Commission. He is also a council member of Bird Life International, a global partnership of conservation organisations.

Barbara Young is Chairman of the Care Quality Commission which is currently in the process of being set up and becomes fully operational on 1 April 2009.

Barbara’s early career was spent in public relations and health services management. She was Chairman then President of the Institute of Health Services Management from 1986-88, and a King’s Fund International Fellow in 1985-86 and 1990-1991.

Prior to joining CQC Barbara was Chief Executive of the Environment Agency. She has also been Chairman of English Nature, Vice Chairman of the BBC, and Chief Executive of the RSPB.

She has roles in a number of voluntary organisations, and is a Trustee of the Institue of Public Policy Research.

Barbara Young is a non-affiliated Life Peer as Baroness Young of Old Scone.