Linking Evidence and Policy for Managing Biodiversity in the Agricultural Landscape

Status: Ongoing
Type of Project: Research Report
Principal Investigator: Professor William Sutherland, University of Cambridge (Email)
Website


Objectives

Science and policy have to be linked together. In environmental research there is a considerable gap between the generation of results by the research community and the needs of practitioners and policymakers. The challenge is, to ensure that the information from previous research - including that from existing and completed Relu projects - is available to practitioners in a form they can use, and in a location they can access when they have the need. We have to investigate interventions that are social, economic and physical (such as changes in farm management).

There is considerable discussion and debate about the most appropriate management for European farmland and about the best means of maintaining and restoring biodiversity within the agricultural landscape. At present advice is offered through advisors and a range of publications, however the evidence-base for the conservation recommendations is often unclear.

A potential solution is to have an integrated practice-led process for identifying social and physical management options, assessing evidence and identifying the priority policies. It is then possible to assess those areas that are of highest priority for further research and review. The final task will be to assess relationships between the actual range of interventions and quality of evidence.