The first ever National Ecological Networks Conference was a great success.
Nearly 200 delegates from all over the globe came to Edinburgh to discuss ecological networks, green infrastructure and Living Landscapes. You can view the conference presentations at the end of this article.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust and the RSPB have proposed a groundbreaking National Ecological Network – a vision that we want to be part of Scotland’s national planning framework. Click here to read more about the National Ecological Network proposal.
During the conference, delegates heard from architects, planners, economists and politicians on how to develop and fund a sustainable ecological network across Scotland. Over the next few days, we will be uploading exclusive video content from the conference onto our website, along with images and agreed actions from the conference. This is not the end for ecological networks; it is just the beginning of a very exciting development in environmental policy.Stay tuned for further updates!
Students from the University of Edinburgh were among those who attended. Read their impressions of the conference.
Conference Papers
Click on the title of each talk to download a pdf of the presentation.
- Jonny Hughes – Initial reflections on the National Ecological Network Conference
- Jonny Hughes – Scottish Widlife Trust response on final day of the Conference
Day 1
- Dr Jane Smart – What’s the Big Idea?
- Professor Bill Adams – A Future for Nature
- Stephanie Hilborne – A Vision for a Living Landscape
- Dr Roger Catchpole – Ecological Networks, Connectivity and Conservation
- Dr Davy McCracken – The Need for Ecosystem Health Indicators
- Dr Alessandro Gimona – Threats from Land Use Change
- Duncan Mackay – Health benefits from green infrastructure
- Russell Galt – Cities and Biodiversity
- Matt Rayment – Green Infrastructure and Sustainable Economies
Day 2
- Ronan Uhel – Green Infrastructure: Trends and Challenges
- Dr Rebecca Badger – SEPA and Ecosystem Services
- Dr Karen Fraser – EU Funding for Ecological Networks
- Dr Roddy Fairley – Resourcing the Priorities
- Willem Ferwerda – Business and Ecological Restoration
- Dr Lawrence Jones-Walters – The Pan European Ecological Network
- Stuart Housden – RSPB Futurescapes
- Colin McLean – Heritage Lottery Fund Landscape Partnerships