New centre of excellence in environmental sustainability for Aberdeen

[Issued jointly by the University of Aberdeen, The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute and the

Natural Environment Research Council]

New centre of excellence in environmental sustainability for Aberdeen

A proposal for a new Aberdeen Centre for Environmental Sustainability (ACES) has today (Thursday, 27 November) been given the go ahead by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), one of the partners in the initiative. NERC's Council welcomed the vision of the new centre at its Council meeting in Aberdeen this morning.

The Centre will combine the strengths of three high-profile research institutions in the Aberdeen area - NERC's Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) Banchory, the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute and the University of Aberdeen.

NERC Chairman, Rob Margetts, said: "ACES has the potential to become a world-class centre of excellence in tackling environmental conflict. It's a tremendous opportunity for the three organisations to seek to ensure sustainable solutions to pressing global problems and we are all keen to get started on this exciting new venture."

The three partners propose to bring together their expertise in land-use, ecology and socio-economics into interdisciplinary teams, aiming to resolve conflicting demands on the environment in a sustainable way.

Detailed discussions will now begin in earnest between the three organisations. Outline plans have already been shared, such as basing the new centre at the Macaulay site. Further talks are needed to confirm the location, determine the resources needed to set up the new centre and agree the nature of the contribution from each of the partners.

Professor Dominic Houlihan, Vice Principal (Research & Commercialisation) at the University of Aberdeen, said: "We are delighted to be part of this tripartite initiative which would bring real value to the city and the region."

His comments were echoed by Professor Maggie Gill, Director of the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, who added: "We expect the initiative to bring new jobs and international experts in the environmental sciences to the city in the years to come."