CEP delivering EKN training - upcoming course dates

INCORPORATING NATURAL CAPITAL AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES INTO ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS: EXPLORING BEST PRACTICE

UPCOMING DATE FOR THIS COURSE IN 2020:

• 10:00 am - 04:30 pm, Tuesday 10th March (The Castle at Taunton, Castle Green, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 1NF)

This course, which is now in its forth year, will equip you to inform clients or colleagues on the merits of including the ecosystem services and natural capital concepts in environmental assessment processes. There is now strong interest in what ecosystem services, natural capital and nature-based solutions mean for Environmental Impact Assessment, Strategic Environmental Assessment and Sustainability Appraisal. 

The course is delivered by Dr Bill Sheate and Spela Kolaric of Collingwood Environmental Planning and organised by the Ecosystems Knowledge Network.

Find out more and book at: https://ecosystemsknowledge.net/events/training-environmental-assessment

CEP delivering EKN training

Incorporating natural capital and ecosystem services into environmental assessments: Exploring best practice

Two dates for this course in 2019:

• 26th June 2019, Leeds (Coth Hall Court, LS21 2HA).

• 27th November 2019, Central London (Cotton Centre, SE1 2QG)

This course, which is now in its third year, will equip you to inform clients or colleagues on the merits of including the ecosystem services and natural capital concepts in environmental assessment processes. There is now strong interest in what ecosystem services, natural capital and nature-based solutions mean for Environmental Impact Assessment, Strategic Environmental Assessment and Sustainability Appraisal.  The course is delivered by Dr Bill Sheate and Spela Kolaric of Collingwood Environmental Planning and organised by the Ecosystems Knowledge Network.

Find out more and book at: https://ecosystemsknowledge.net/events/training-environmental-assessment

CEP's Ric Eales appointed Visiting Professor

CEP’s Ric Eales appointed visiting professor at the university of strathclyde, department of civil and environmental engineering

Photo credit: Montrose Street, Glasgow © MSeses / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

We are pleased to announce that Ric Eales, CEP’s Managing Director, has been appointed a Visiting Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Strathclyde.

CEP has a long relationship with the University of Strathclyde and has collaborated on research and teaching over many years.  We have explored together issues as diverse as rural land use management, climate change impacts on transport infrastructure, social impacts of off-shore renewables, and stakeholder engagement in controversial proposed energy developments.

Ric’s appointment, which is a great honour, will reinforce this relationship into the future.  Ric is looking forward to working with both the staff and students in this innovative and multidisciplinary department.

For more information contacts Ric Eales r.eales@cep.co.uk / ric.eales@strath.ac.uk

Environmental assessment and ecosystem services training now booking

Incorporating natural capital and ecosystem services into environmental assessment: Exploring best practice

CEP, in association with Ecosystems Knowledge Network (EKN), will once again be running this popular CPD-level one-day training course in London in November 2018.

“Very informative. Trainers very knowledgeable and approachable. Use of case study
examples ideal.” Course participant, London May 2016.

The concepts of natural capital and ecosystem services are becoming prominent across Europe, along-side growing interests in nature-based solutions. There is now strong interest in what ecosystem services, natural capital and nature-based solutions mean for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Sustainability Appraisal (SA). This training course will cover:

• Why these concepts are useful in environmental assessment
• How the concepts can be used in EIA, SA and SEA
• How you might use ecosystem services in theory and practice
• Challenges and opportunities (data requirements; legal compliance; guidance)

Date and venue: 22nd November 2018. Tideway, Cottons Centre, Cottons Lane, London, SE1 2QG.

Who is the training for? The course is for professionals involved in environmental assessment processes (EIA, SEA and SA) across diverse sectors including built infrastructure and development planning, transport, energy, water resources and flood risk management.  It will be applicable to environmental assessment practitioners and stakeholders working from project level to strategic plans; and in relation to terrestrial and marine environments.

Trainers

Dr Bill Sheate: Technical Director of Collingwood Environmental Planning and Reader in Environmental Assessment at Imperial College London.

Špela Kolarič: Senior Consultant at Collingwood Environmental Planning. An environmental and spatial planning specialist.

For prices and booking visit the EKN website at:
https://ecosystemsknowledge.net/events/training-environmental-assessment

CEP's Dr Bill Sheate to give lecture at LSE

Dr Bill Sheate will give a lecture to LSE Masters students on EIA

CEP's Dr Bill Sheate is to give a lecture titled Environmental Impact Assessment: EIA and SEA to students of the Executive MSc in Cities programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) on 13th December 2017.

Training courses in natural capital and participatory planning now booking

CEP TRAINING COURSES FOR EKN IN NATURAL CAPITAL AND PARTICIPATORY PLANNING NOW BOOKING

Dr Bill Sheate and Dr Peter Phillips will deliver a series of training courses for the Ecosystems Knowledge Network (EKN) during 2017, following the success of our one-day training course on Incorporating ecosystem services into environmental assessment run in London and Manchester during 2016.

The Ecosystem Service and Environmental Assessment course will be run again in Scotland and in Birmingham in May and June 2017 respectively.  In addition, a new one-day training course in Participatory Land Use Planning will run back-to-back with that course:-

INCORPORATING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND NATURAL CAPITAL INTO ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

• Battleby Conference Centre, Perth, Central Scotland, 10th May 2017. With kind support from Scottish Natural Heritage.
• Austin Court, Central Birmingham B1 2NP, 8th June 2017.

PARTICIPATORY LAND USE PLANNING AND THE ECOSYSTEM APPROACH: WHAT, WHEN AND HOW

• Battleby Conference Centre, Perth PH1 3EW, 9th May 2017.  With kind support from Scottish Natural Heritage.

For further information and links for booking see below:

CEP's Dr Bill Sheate gave a lecture at LSE

Dr Bill Sheate gave a lecture to LSE Master's students on EIA

CEP's Dr Bill Sheate gave a lecture titled Environmental Impact Assessment: EIA and SEA to students of the Executive MSc in Cities programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) on 15 December 2016.

Webinar taster for ecosystem services and environmental assessment training

Photo: Bill Sheate - managed realignment, Fingringhoe, Essex.

Incorporating ecosystem services into environmental assessment training course - taster webinar recording NOW available

Ecosystem services are becoming increasingly prominent as a framework for linking the environment and people’s well-being. There is strong interest in what ecosystem services mean for processes such as Environmental Impact Assessment, Strategic Environmental Assessment and Sustainability Appraisal. One key difference is the framing of the natural environment as an opportunity or benefit as opposed to a constraint or backdrop to absorb impacts.

This webinar by CEP's Dr Bill Sheate for the Ecosystems Knowledge Network and the Irish Forum on Natural Capital introduces the topic, pointing to some of the resources and examples available. It was recorded on Friday, October 7, 2016 10:00 am and lasts for 30 minutes.

CEP's Dr Bill Sheate at Environment Analyst Infrastructure Conference

CEP at Environment Analyst Infrastructure conference

Dr Bill Sheate will be running a round-table discussion on Exploring Biodiversity Offsetting & How It Can Work In Practice at the Managing the Environmental Impacts of UK Infrastructure Development conference, produced jointly by Environment Analyst and Environment OnSite, to be held in London on 21 June 2016.  The conference is intended to provide an opportunity for environmental consultants to come together with their contractors and clients and share best practice examples of what can be achieved when environmental impacts are considered early in the design and development process.

Dr Sheate led the evaluation project undertaken by CEP for Defra on the Biodiversity Offsetting Pilot Scheme 2012-2014.

Ecosystem services and environmental assessment training delivered by CEP

Photo courtesy of Edvard Glücksman

CEP delivers one-day training workshop on Incorporating ecosystem services into environmental assessment

Dr Bill Sheate and Dr Peter Phillips delivered a very successful one-day training course in London on 24 May 2016 on Incorporating ecosystem services into environmental assessment, on behalf of the Ecosystems Knowledge Network (EKN).  The course is being run again in Manchester on 29 June 2016, at Manchester Metropolitan University's Business School - just a few places are still available; booking is available online here.

Comments from some of the participants at the London training:

“Grateful for an excellent day’s training with @EcosystemsNet in London”

“Very informative. Trainers very knowledgeable and approachable”

“Really useful, informative day”

CEP’S DR BILL SHEATE SPEAKING AT EU WORKSHOP ON SEA

Image: 'Charlemagne is back in Europe' by Eddy Van 3000 (CC BY-SA 2.0)

DR BILL SHEATE WILL BE SPEAKING AT A EUROPEAN COMMISSION WORKSHOP IN BRUSSELS ON 18 May 2016 ON THE STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT DIRECTIVE

Dr Bill Sheate, Technical Director at CEP, is an invited speaker at a workshop organised by the European Commission in Brussels on 18 May on “The application and effectiveness of the SEA Directive (Directive 2001/42/EC)".  

Bill will be talking on “How Strategic is Strategic Environmental Assessment? The importance of ‘tiering’ with EIA”, looking at how the relationship between SEA and EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) has evolved in the EU, and how a better appreciation of this 'tiering' between different decision and assessment levels can help to make environmental assessment more efficient and effective. Bill has undertaken a number of studies on EIA and SEA for the European Commission over the years, and has been involved with the EIA and SEA Directives since their early conception from the early 1980s. 

CEP providing environmental assessment training for EKN

One-day training courses in environmental assessment and ecosystem services being provided by CEP for the EcosystemS Knowledge Network 

CEP is providing two one-day training courses on Incorporating ecosystem services into environmental assessment in the UK on behalf of the Ecosystems Knowledge Network (EKN). The training days, which count for IEMA CPD, will be run in London (24 May 2016) and Manchester (29 June 2016).

The course is being offered for those who commission or undertake formal environmental assessments of all types in the UK, as well as those who use them, and will cover:

• Why might the ecosystem service concept be useful in environmental assessment?
• How can the concept be used in SA, SEA and EIA?
• How might you use the concept? (theoretically and practically)
• How is the concept actually being used?
• Challenges and opportunities (data requirements; legal compliance; guidance).

The trainers will be Dr Bill Sheate (Technical Director, CEP) and Dr Peter Phillips (Senior Consultant, CEP)

Further details and booking are available here. 

ICJ judgment in Nicaragua v Costa Rica case

International Court of Justice finds Costa Rica in breach of international obligation to carry out EIA for road along the border with Nicaragua

The judgment was given today (16 December 2015) by the International Court of Justice in the Nicaragua v Costa Rica (Border Road) case.  

Dr William Sheate, Technical Director at CEP,  testified at the ICJ hearing in April this year on behalf of Nicaragua, and provided written evidence on Costa Rica’s failure to meet its obligation under international law to undertake an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) prior to the construction of the road (“Route 1856”) along the San Juan River, the border with Nicaragua.

The Court found in its judgment today that Costa Rica was in breach of its obligation under international law to conduct an EIA prior to the construction of the road, and its claim of an emergency situation which justified an exemption from EIA was dismissed by the Court.  

“THE COURT, …. (6) Unanimously,
Finds that Costa Rica has violated its obligation under general international law by failing to carry out an environmental impact assessment concerning the construction of Route 1856”

Paragraph 229, Judgment 16 December 2015, (see ICJ Press Release for further information)

Bill Sheate speaking at European Commission conference on EIA

Dr Bill Sheate will be speaking at a European Commission conference in Luxembourg on 12/13 November 2015 marking 30 years of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive

Dr Bill Sheate, Technical Director at CEP, will be an invited speaker at a high-level conference organised by the European Commission together with the European Investment Bank and the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the EU, in Luxembourg on 12/13 November.  The conference titled "The revised EIA Directive – 30 years of legacy and challenges ahead" is to mark 30 years of the EIA Directive, originally agreed in 1985.  The Directive has been amended and updated a number of times over that period, but has now firmly established EIA across Member States as an essential tool in supporting a consistent level of environmental protection and more sustainable development across the EU.

Bill will be talking on Streamlining assessment and tiering of EIA with SEA in the EU, looking at how the relationship between EIA and SEA (strategic environmental assessment) has evolved in the EU, and how a better appreciation of this 'tiering' between different decision and assessment levels can help to make environmental assessment more efficient and effective.  Bill has undertaken a number of studies on EIA and SEA for the European Commission over the years, and has been involved with the EIA Directive since its draft stages in the early 1980s. 

Honorary appointment at University of Manchester

Bill Sheate appointed an Honorary Professorial Research Fellow at University of Manchester

Dr Bill Sheate - Technical Director at CEP - has been appointed an Honorary Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, in the School of Environment, Education and Development.  

This continues a long-standing relationship Bill has had, since 2007, as an Honorary Senior Research Fellow with the School's Planning and Environmental Management theme.  Bill's research and teaching collaboration with Manchester is focused around environmental impact assessment, strategic environmental assessment, environmental policy and green infrastructure.  

CEP expert testifies at International Court of Justice

Dr William Sheate today testified on behalf of the Government of Nicaragua in the case of Nicaragua v Costa Rica (Border Road) at the United Nations' International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands.

Dr Sheate was giving expert evidence on the need for an Environmental Impact Assessment to have been undertaken by Costa Rica prior to the construction of the 160km Border Road being built by Costa Rica close to the San Juan River, the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica.  Further information about the case can be found on the ICJ website.