We are working closely with our stakeholders to address vital knowledge-gaps and provide information to inform future policy and strategy:

“CCW has acknowledged that nature conservation needs a more ecological process based approach to environmental management at catchment and sub-catchment scales. We also need to have a deeper understanding of the relationships between the freshwater biota and their physical and chemical environments, and critically the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem service delivery. We think the Duress project provides a means of filling these research needs.”

– Dr Catherine Duigan, Head of Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems Group – Countryside Council for Wales (now Natural Resource Wales)

“As a science-based organisation, the RSPB sees the huge value of this kind of research in addressing such fundimental knowledge-gaps, in order that river ecosystems and river ecosystem services, are better understood and can be managed more sustainably. RSPB Cymru is keen to understand more about the links between biodiversity in upland freshwater ecosystems and the services these ecosystems deliver, and how future land use and climate changes might affect these links.”

– Dr Seán Christian, Head of Conservation – RSPB Cymru

“In Wales, with it’s large upland areas and the rivers that drain them, the link between river ecosystem services, biodiversity and catchment use management are important. As such, research into these relationships is likely to be a very useful follow on to the UK National Ecosystem Assessment work and as an evidence base for the developing Natural Environment Framework.”

– Chris Lea, Head of Division for sustainability and Environmental Evidence Division and Nature, Access and Marine Unit – Welsh Government

“The Environment Agency is particularly interested in the management of ecosystem services in multifunctional systems. To be able to do this a better understanding of the role of biodiversity in providing water related ecosystem services at different scales is required. How best to manage biodiversity in the face of potentially conflicting requirements is essential. This project will help address these issues and add to developing evidence on the role of biodiversity in supplying essential ecosystem services.”

– Paul Logan, Strategic Environmental Planning – Environment Agency

“The embedding of the ecosystem approach in national policy has highlighted the need for an improved understanding of the value of ecosystems in the provision of goods and services. This is especially the case for river ecosystems and the sustainable management of the water environment.”

– Dr Thomas R Nisbet, Programme Manager for Changing Physical Environment – Forest Research

“The funding of this proposal is of particular importance at this time, because the project would provide better information on how protecting and increasing biodiversity increases the resilience to deliver ecosystem services, in the face of climate change.”

– Prof John Stoner, Policy Advisor – Afonydd Cymru

“We are working towards developing a new approach in protecting the quality and quantity of our water resource and rivers in Wales. [..]We feel that research proposed by Cardiff University and its partners would provide an outcome that can be used to support us in developing our approach.”

– Tim Williams, Head of Asset Strategy and Planning – Welsh Water