UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology to chair the Partnership for European Environmental Research
During the month of April 2008 the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) takes over the chairmanship of the Partnership for European Environmental Research (PEER), the most powerful European network in the environmental sciences.
With seven partners across Europe, including the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, the PEER partnership has a total staff number of 4700 and an overall annual budget of £230M. CEH will chair PEER for a two year period. PEER includes leading research organisations from Italy, UK, Netherlands, Germany, Finland, France and Denmark.
Key priorities of the CEH chairmanship will be the implementation of two innovative projects on climate policy coherence and national adaptation strategies which will be jointly financed by the partners. The results of these projects will be communicated to international policy forums including the Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The mission of PEER is to build a strategic partnership of Europe's largest public environmental research centres, to lead a European Research Area that strengthens the knowledge base for the sustainable development of a changing world.The partnership also aims to foster innovative interdisciplinary research and cross-cutting approaches in support of national and European policy-makers, industry and society.
Having been a founding member of PEER in 2001, this is the first time CEH will chair PEER, enabling the UK to take a leading role in European environmental research. As Chair, CEH Director Professor Patricia Nuttall will represent the PEER partners in relations with major European and global organisations.
Furthermore, the CEH chairmanship will signal the launch of a new PEER Newsletter and website and encourage further shared activities, such as an enhanced mapping of joint expertise and the launch of a new European Biodiversity Network.
Additional information
More information about the Partnership for European Environmental Research (PEER) can be found here (external link)
The Centre for Ecology & Hydrology officially assumed the PEER Chair on April 1st 2008. Handover activties from the previous chair, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Germany, will take place during April 2008.
The seven members of the Partnership for European Environmental Research are:
JRC Institute for Environment and Sustainability (European Commission)
Alterra (Netherlands)
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UK)
UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (Germany)
SYKE - Finnish Environment Institute (Finland)
Cemagref (France)
NERI - National Environmental Research Institute (Denmark)
Media enquiries should be directed to the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Press office.
