HR Wallingford creates new Environment team

28 July 2010, 1:21pm

International research and consultancy organisation HR Wallingford has announced the creation of a new team of environmental specialists to enhance existing capabilities and act as a centre of excellence for aquatic environmental solutions.

Environmental issues are at the heart of sustainable economic growth and social development. Management of the environment aims to conserve ecosystems now and for future generations, for their value as a natural resource as well as for the services and benefits they provide to society. Over the past 20 years a significant body of environmental legislation has been introduced to ensure that the principles of sustainable development and environmental protection are considered during the planning and implementation of projects.

Due to strong growth in market opportunity and recent indications from our national and international clients, HR Wallingford has created a new environment group as a centre of excellence for aquatic environmental solutions. The environment group integrates environmental expertise and assessment into HR Wallingford’s world-leading capabilities in civil engineering and hydraulics. The group brings together HR Wallingford’s existing environmental specialists and experienced new staff from a wide range of professional backgrounds including environmental regulation, marine ecology and Environmental Impact Assessment.

“Much of HR Wallingford’s work focuses on the state of the aquatic environment and the effects of changes to that state,” explains Nicola Clay, manager of the new group. “Our new environment group will provide consultancy advice, environmental assessment and policy support to underpin and add value to our existing services. We will give our clients useful and meaningful information to help them understand the key environmental issues, maximising accessibility for non-specialists through the innovative application of GIS and highly visual presentation techniques.”

In keeping with HR Wallingford’s reputation for innovative research, the new team will also develop modelling and predictive tools for use in environmental assessment and management, with a particular focus on tools that can assist in ecosystem based management such as ecological and water quality modelling.

One of the first projects the new environment group will work on is to develop a method of assessing the vulnerability of marine habitats in Wales to the impacts of climate change, for the Countryside Council for Wales. This work will assist in meeting the requirements of the Climate Change Act 2008.

www.hrwallingford.co.uk

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