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With The World Summit Looming, Lords Report Warns That Scientists Vital To Conservation Are In Danger Of Extinction

July 12, 2002

Baroness Walmsley will introduce a debate in the House of Lords today on the agenda for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in the light of the report What on Earth? The Threat to the Science Underpinning Conservation by the Science and Technology Committee.

The report, published in May 2002, urges the Government to show renewed commitment to conservation when the Prime Minister leads the delegation to the World Summit in Johannesburg in late August.

Baroness Walmsley, chairman of the inquiry, said:

"The Government has committed itself to conserving UK biodiversity and helping protect endangered species throughout the world. Yet the scientists who play a vital role in conservation work are themselves in danger of extinction unless action is taken. "Scientists' workload has increased since Rio, yet funding has decreased. As we approach 'Rio plus ten' in Johannesburg, it's time the Government matched its good intentions with better resources for systematic biologists."

The following are expected to speak in the debate: Lord Haskel, Lord Oxburgh, Lord Soulsby of Swaffham Prior, the Earl of Selborne, Lord Warner, Lord Rea, the Bishop of Hereford, Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer, Lord Glentoran, Lord Sainsbury of Turville.

The report calls on the Government to:
* increase grant-in-aid funding to the science that underpins biodiversity conservation (systematic biology, which identifies and describes species and the links between them)
* identify priority areas of biodiversity about which conservationists need more information (in collaboration with conservationists and systematic biologists)
* set up a co-ordinating body to improve communication between relevant Government departments (DEFRA, DCMS, DFID, OST), conservationists and systematic biologists to enable priority setting

Systematic biology in dangerous decline
In 1992 the House of Lords reported that systematic biology was in danger and made recommendations, accepted by the Government. Over the past decade the decline has worsened as grant-in-aid funding to individual systematic biology institutions has reduced by between 15 and 28%.

The importance of systematic biology
Systematic biologists have a vital role to play in:
* Identifying potential useful species for medicine
* Helping control pests in agriculture, fish-farming and horticulture
* Monitoring environmental change

More use of World Wide Web
Extra funding is needed to make available the UK's invaluable collections of specimens on the World Wide Web to help international scientists identify and monitor species.

Universities
Systematic biology is declining in universities, partly because of the Research Assessment Exercise, on which funding decisions are based. Higher Education Funding Councils should consider ways to overcome this.

Attract more recruits
Systematic biologists themselves need to raise the profile of their subject to recruit more people, both professionals and amateurs, to the field.

House of Lords

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