04/10/2005 - The Environment
Agency has appointed Professor Michael Depledge
to be its first Chief Scientific Advisor (CSA),
signalling its determination to ensure that
its regulatory policies and operational activities
are based upon robust scientific evidence
and fit-for-purpose technologies.
As Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Depledge
will be employed by the Agency for three days
per week, providing the Chief Executive, Directors
and senior managers throughout the organisation
with advice on all scientific matters relating
to the Agency’s work. The role of the Chief
Scientific Adviser will also be to liaise
closely with other government scientific advisors,
the research councils, the European Environment
Agency and the European Commission to help
develop the future environmental science research
agenda.
Professor Depledge has served as the Environment
Agency’s Head of Science for the past three
years, managing the 180 staff of the Agency’s
Science Group and with responsibility for
delivering the science programme.
Professor Depledge said:
"I am delighted with this new opportunity
to raise the profile of science within the
Environment Agency. As Head of Science I was
involved in the management of the staff of
the Agency’s Science Group as well as delivering
the science programme. This left little time
for keeping up with new advances in research
or being an advocate for the use of new scientific
knowledge.
"As Chief Scientific Advisor I will be
able to keep abreast of the latest scientific
developments through our extensive network
of contacts in the UK, Europe and the international
scientific community. I hope to identify new
science and influence the environmental research
agenda to meet the needs of the Environment
Agency."
In addition to his new appointment at the
Environment Agency, Professor Depledge is
to work for the Plymouth Marine Laboratory,
where he will be part of its strategic development
team. He has also been appointed an Honorary
Fellow at the James Martin Institute, Oxford
University, where he will carry out his own
research programme.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
The Environment Agency for England and Wales
is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB),
set up under the Environment Act 1995, to
take an integrated approach to environmental
protection and enhancement in England and
Wales. The Agency has major responsibilities
for controlling industrial pollution and wastes
management, regulation of the water environment,
and for protection against flooding from rivers
and the sea. The Environment Agency’s primary
aim is to protect and improve the environment
and make a contribution towards the delivery
of sustainable development through the integrated
management of air, land and water. Details
of the Agency’s functions are available on
the Agency’s website.
