Blogs

The European Commission has produced a draft regulation on Invasive Alien Species that provides a framework for action to prevent, minimise and mitigate the adverse impacts of Invasive Alien Species on biodiversity and ecosystem services. It proposes coordinated action, focusing resources on priority species and on increasing preventive measures, including countering intentional or unintentional introduction and release, a early warning and rapid response system, and managing spread.

Within a wider international context of development of thinking and policy on open access, there have been a series of UK reports and recommendations in the last year. Some of the key resources are...../

1. The Royal Society's Science as an Open Enterprise, published in June 2012, makes recommendations on an open culture in science, recognition for data analysis and communication, standards for sharing information and publishing data for reuse and related matters.
2. The Finch Report, also June 2012, which makes recommendations on data access and open access to publications - and the UK Government response.
3. RCUK published an Open Access Policy in July 2012, setting out conditions for grant holders from 1 April 2013 - and a final revised policy on 8 April 2013.  RCUK has continued to develop its policy and to clarify implications and operation.  Individual councils - such as NERC - have developed from this foundation to reflect their research enterprise.
4. The UK House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee held an inquiry in early 2013, reporting in February and making recommendations for the clarification of RCUK policy and procedure.  Both the UK Government and RCUK responded.
5. HEFCE has been consulting on open access implementation with respect to research considered within the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF)
6. The Wellcome Trust has an Open Access Policy applying CC-BY to papers published with Wellcome funds from April 2013.
7. The European Commission has been supporting a pilot exercise within FP7  - open access principles will be further developed under Horizon 2020.
8. the UK government produced an Open Data White Paper in June 2012 setting out a broad agenda for access to government data, including open access to publicly-funded research data.  The government has set up a Research Sector Transparency Board, charied by the UK science minister David Willetts, that had an initial meeting in February 2013, aiming to develop the policy agenda for the UK.
9. The US Office of Science and Technology Policy issued a memo on the development of open access for federally funded research data and publications in February 2013.  Commentary in Nature.

EU and IUCN collaboration on the European Red List updated at September 2011.  Grim reading on some ecosystems such as freshwater.

Useful high-level brief on Biodiversity and Health from the EU, covering pharmaceuticals, infectious disease, food security, green spaces and the underpinning science.

A new European biodiversity strategy to 2020 was published on 3 May 2011, including targets for 2020 and the 2050 vision.