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16-02-09 : ECRR Peter Wilson Lecture 2010 Professor Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, Principal, University of Strathclyde wil give the 2010 ECRR Peter Wilson Lecture on the topic of energy. The lecture will consider and quantify the opportunity to realise Scotland's renewable energy potential (approximately 40% of the European total) and will examine the more general theme of low carbon technologies and energy infrastructure, looking at specific wind and marine technologies, and other key areas such as electricity grid systems, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, biomass and energy demand reduction. Strategic links between research, knowledge exchange and economic development will offer Scotland the opportunity to participate in the development of an energy industry for the 21st Century. To this end, the production of high quality graduates and technologists and the need for partnership between government, industry and academia is essential. Key outcomes from the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen and their impact on Scottish opportunity,as well as the role of cities and citizens will be considered in terms of the sustainability agenda. Throughout the lecture, case studies will be presented on exciting Scottish-based energy technology projects, ranging from rural deployment and community initiatives through to major infrastructure projects. The Lecture will take place at the offices of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 22-26 George Street, Edinburgh commencing at 6.00pm on Tuesday 16 February 2010. Registration for the meeting can be done through the RSE web site.

3-11-09 : New ECRR Scientific Director Professor Stuart Monro, OBE. BSc, PhD, CGeol, FGS, FHEA, FRSSA, has taken over the role of ECRR Scientific Director following the retiral of Dr Chris Browitt. Stuart, until recently, has been co-chair of the Scottish Science Advisory Council and is currently Scientific Director at Our Dynamic Earth. He has over 34 years of research experience with the British Geological Survey as a Principal Geologist. He is Visiting Professor in Edinburgh University's School of GeoSciences and is a member of Edinburgh University Court. Stuart has extensive experience in promoting science in many capacities: teaching geology at all levels in the Open University; member of the Council of the Open University; non-executive Director of the Edinburgh International Science Festival; chair of the Earth Science Trust; trustee of the National Museums of Scotland.

3-09-09 : ECRR Seminar : Rural Flooding Issues : Challenges & Opportunities Rural flooding can have high impacts which may increase as climate changes and sea levels rise. This seminar explored mitigation strategies and the need, and opportunities, for new research. The seminar took place on the afternoon of Thursday 3rd September 2009 at BGS Murchison House, West Mains Road, Edinburgh. Slide presentations from the seminar can be viewed here: Challenges & Opportunities for Rural Flood Risk Management, Chris Spray, UNESCO Centre, Dundee University The Science Evidence Base: From Hydrology to Hydrogeology, Alan MacDonald, British Geological Survey Land Management Options: The Potential Role of Forestry, Nadeem Shah & Tom Nisbet, Forest Research Regulation, Research and the Catchment-Based Approach: Where next for Flood Risk Management? Roy Richardson, Scottish Environment Protection Agency

13-05-09 : ECRR Forum : Scotland's Changing Rural Biodiversity The aim of this one-day forum was to discuss current knowledge on the status and values of Scotland's rural diversity and to explore successes and failures in achieving biodiversity goals. The forum took place on 13 May 2009 at the SNH Battleby Centre, near Perth, with around 100 participants. The slide presentations can be viewed here. A summary of the presentations and discussions can be found here..

17-02-09 : ECRR Peter Wilson Lecture 2009 Professor John Beddington, UK Government's Chief Scientific Adviser, gave the 2009 ECRR Peter Wilson Lecture. The lecture, organised jointly with the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Institute of Biology Scotland, was held in the RSE, George Street, Edinburgh on 17 February 2009. Professor Beddington spoke about some of the world's major resource challenges over the next 40 years in providing food, water and energy for an expanding population. He provided an assessment of the technological solutions available and the scientific challenges in bringing these solutions to bear. Professor Beddington's presentation, including slides and video, can be viewed from the RSE web site.

19-09-08 : ECRR Workshop : Provision of Environmental Research to 2020 This workshop explored how the needs for an evidence base on UK environmental changes can be met over the coming decade. The speaker, Peter Singleton, SEPA, and who is also chairman of the Horizon Scanning Project Board for the Environment Research Funders' Forum, gave a stimulating talk which provoked a wide-ranging discussion on how environmental research issues in Scotland might be addressed. Slides from Peter Singleton's presentation can be viewed here.

07-11-07 : Climate Change Impacts Seminar - 7 Nov 2007 ECRR and the Scotland & Northern Ireland Forum for Environmental Research organised a seminar on 7 November 2007 to share information on climate change research. More than 50 participants heard from 9 speakers about a broad spectrum of issues and the challenges that researchers must face. Slide presentations from the seminar can be viewed here: A View from Government, Philip Wright, Scottish Government Scotland in Partnership, Marion Mulholland, SNIFFER Impacts & Adaptation for Birds, James Pearce-Higgins, RSPB Scotland Forestry in Scotland, Duncan Ray, Forest Research Local Communities' Adaptation, Clive Bowman, Centre for Mountain Studies Water Industry, Mark Williams, Scottish Water Implications for Agriculture, Dominic Moran, SAC Measuring Impacts, Adam Butler, BioSS Coastal Communities Impacts, Alexandre Gagnon, University of Paisley

02-06-07 : Scotland's Energy & Environment - Technological and Social Challenges A meeting to discuss issues relating to traditional and renewable energy technologies and their social and environmental impacts was held on 30th May 2007 at the SNH Battleby Centre near Perth. The meeting was organised jointly by ECRR and the UK Energy Research Centre with the support of the Scottish Executive, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Aberdeen Research Consortium. Abstracts of talks can be viewed here

Future events For details of future ECRR events please click on the 'Diary of Events' button on the lefthand panel.

What are the 'hot' topics in rural Scotland? Up-to-date information, news, and discussion from around the country, is provided by the Scotland National Rural Network web site.