Land Conversations / Ecosystems & Energy
Promoting biodiversity: the role of natural resources and renewable energy.
Ecosystems are sustained by stores and flows of energy, materials and living things. Stores include soil, vegetation, animal life, minerals and water bodies. Flows include solar energy, rainfall, erosion, wind and storms. Human societies add to stores through wealth and infrastructure, and to flows through trade in raw materials and services. A well-regulated society ensures its stores and within-country flows are large enough to guard against external pressures like blockades and global crop failures. Yet the current system is losing its store of biodiversity and relies heavily on imports of food, livestock feed, wood, fertiliser and energy. How can the balance be redressed? And is there a moral case to answer – should society destroy another country’s ecosystem to spare its own? How can we ensure we start to restore our biodiversity while meeting our renewable energy needs?
To carry o the conversation please add you r thoughts on the proposals here:
https://padlet.com/ScotEcoDesign/LandConv3
Speakers
CHAIR
Prof Dan Van Der Horst
Professor Lecturer, Environment, Energy & Society, University of Edinburgh
In his work, Dan focuses on scarce resources in crowded spaces, his interests include the governance of multifunctionality and shared value, and the tools, practices and politics of resource allocation and conflict management. Dan has received funding from ESRC, NERC and EPSRC and various EU funds for his research on social entrepreneurs in renewable energy, siting controversies and energy landscapes, the water-energy-food nexus, ecosystem services and poverty alleviation for small scale farmers adopting energy crops. He is currently involved in an EU project on renewable energy and landscape quality and an EPSRC project on the use of serious games in household energy management. He is director of the UK wide research network on Transforming Energy Demand Through Digital Innovation (TEDDINET).
Main Speaker
Nicholas Gubbins
CEO Community Energy Scotland
Chief Executive at Community Energy Scotland; previously Chief Executive of the Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company, CES’ predecessor; Head of Community Regeneration at Highlands and Islands Enterprise, focused on supporting community-based development, the voluntary sector and social enterprise. Between 1982-2000 Nicholas worked for the Nature Conservancy Council and Scottish Natural Heritage. He has degrees in Environmental Law, Conservation and Environmental Sciences.
Panel
Caroline Drummond
Chief Executive LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming)
With over 40 years experience in the farming and environment sector Caroline has been running LEAF since it began in 1991. Her work is dedicated to securing more sustainable farming practices and positive action to address climate change, through nature-based solutions, circular agriculture including Integrated Farm Management (IFM), whilst building better public trust and understanding of farming, food, health and the environment. Caroline is actively involved in a wide range of government and industry partnerships and initiatives. She has won many awards including the Institute of Agriculture Engineers Award For Outstanding Contribution to the Land based Sector and the global Women Economic Forum Award - Women of the Decade in Sustainable Farming. Caroline also started Women in Food and Farming and is married to a dairy farmer.
Alison Hester,
Senior Scientist , The James Hutton Institute
Senior Scientist and Baillie Gifford Entrepreneurial Research Fellow at the James Hutton Institute, Alison has over 30 years research experience and an international reputation in biodiversity, conservation and land management. She works closely with scientists, land managers, communities and policy-makers in different parts of the world. Alison leads a new Climate-Positive Farming initiative for the Institute which is exploring transformative approaches to upland farming, with innovations in technology and in ways of working.
Jim Birley
Scottish Wood & ASHS
Jim founded Scottish Wood, a hardwood Sawmill based in Inzievar woods, near Oakley, Fife. It is a social enterprise providing training opportunities and work to long term unemployed and brings together local communities, environmentalists, land owners and local businesses to promote the sustainable development of woodland. Jim is a previous chair of the Association of Scottish Hardwood Sawmillers.
Jeremy Leggett
Solarcentury & Bunloit Wildland
Jeremy is a social entrepreneur, writer and climate campaigner who in 2020 founded the Bunloit Natural Capital Accelerator, a nature-based solutions social enterprise based on a 500 hectare estate in the Highlands. Previously Jeremy was scientific director at Greenpeace, founded the solar energy company Solarcentury and the charity SolarAid. Jeremy and his enterprises have won many awards including Entrepreneur of the Year at the New Energy Awards, the first Hillary Laureate for International Leadership in Climate Change and a Queen's Award for Enterprise in Innovation.
Adrian Loening
Mór Hydro Ltd.
Managing Director of Mór Hydro Ltd a technical consultancy and project developer of hydro renewable energy projects; Past Chair of the British Hydropower Association, Adrian has over 30 years experience in the development of renewable energy systems including landfill biogas energy development, solar refrigeration, solar heating and member of the Wave Power Research Group at Edinburgh University.
artisitic contributions
Each of the six conversations will include four artistic contributions, from poets, musicians and video artists, bringing a cultural perspective to each event. Each of their pieces will be a different take on the changing rural landscape around them, the climate emergency and the unstable connections between the human and the natural worlds. Some will be provocative about the way forward, some reflective of the current situation, and others just a joyous celebration of nature.
The contributors tonight are:
Moteh Parrot Song for the Insects
Sophie Cooke Clockwork World
Roseanne Watt Kishie Wife
Su-a Lee Songs My Mother Taught Me
