Mitigation: Smoke and Mirrors or Biodiversity Enhancement?

18-20 November 2008



Booking a Place

Early booking is advisable - places will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis. REGISTERING FOR THE CONFERENCE CAN ONLY BE DONE ONLINE. To register for the conference please click here >>. Bookings must be received by 7 November 2008 or a late booking fee of £10 will be applied.

BOOK A PLACE NOW >>

Please click the link above to go to our online booking page (you will automatically be forwarded to another website for this). If paying by credit card, the site will automatically transfer you to our payment site (SecPay) at the relevant time.



Prices

(conference fees are exempt from VAT)

IEEM Members = £95 per day or £180 for both days. Conference dinner = £30.

Non IEEM members = £125 per day or £240 for both days. Conference dinner = £35.

IEEM Student members (limited number of places) = £35 per day or £70 for both days. Conference dinner = £30.

IEEM members in Abeyance/Deferred/Retired = £35 per day or £70 for both days. Conference dinner = £30.

Award ceremony. On the evening of Tuesday 18 November 2008, the IEEM Medal will be presented to Professor Charles Gimingham. A wine reception and finger buffet will be available from 19.00. The Award ceremony will start at 19.30. There is a £10 fee to attend this.


Background

Mitigation is defined as ‘any deliberate action taken to alleviate adverse effects, whether by controlling the sources of impacts or the exposure of ecological receptors to them’.  The statistics record declining habitats and reduced species diversity.  Are we fiddling while Rome burns?  Is planning and conservation legislation and policy providing the impetus and enforcement required to deliver effective mitigation?  Is mitigation of the quality needed to restore and enhance biodiversity?  Or, does it only avoid, reduce, moderate, minimise or repair, thereby becoming a lost opportunity? Should we be delivering enhancements as a part of mitigation action? How is mitigation being evaluated?  Can we meet the Countdown 2010 challenge to halt biodiversity loss?


Programme

Download a PDF version of the conference programme here >>

 

TUESDAY 18 NOVEMBER 

19.30Award Ceremony and Presentation of the IEEM Medal to Professor Charles Gimingham (including Wine Reception and Buffet Dinner)
 


WEDNESDAY 19 NOVEMBER 

 

SESSION 1: SETTING THE SCENE
Chair: Andy Tasker CEnv MIEEM (IEEM President)

09.00Introduction
09.10 Keynote Speaker: Strategic Overview
David Tyldesley MIEEM (David Tyldesley Associates)
09.40 Delivering Mitigation and Enhancement through EIA
Richard Knightbridge CEnv MIEEM (Entec) and Hugh Watson CEnv MIEEM (Entec)
10.05 Bridging the Gap between Ecologists and Planners
Jonathan Mullard MIEEM
10.30Discussion
10.45Coffee Break
11.15Trunk Road Design and Mitigation, including Planning and Examples of Best Practice
Andrew Mackenzie MIEEM (Transport for Scotland & MBEC)
11.40Addressing Uncertainty: Using Adaptive Management for Mitigation and Monitoring
Joseph Ferris (Parsons Brinkerhoff) and Dorothy Gibb (AH Consultants)
12.05Habitat Creation: What’s the Point?
Cameron Crook MIEEM (Cameron Crook Associates)
12.30Discussion
 

SESSION 2: EXCURSIONS

13.00-13.30Depart for Excursions (With packed Lunch)
Excursion to local sites showing examples of mitigation work, including Windfarms, Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park, Mitigation for Protected Species and others (TBC)
17.00Return from Excursions (Tea and Coffee)
17.30Main IEEM AGM
19.00Presidents Wine Reception
19.30Conference Dinner
 


THURSDAY 20 NOVEMBER 

 

SESSION 3: PRACTICAL ASPECTS – PROJECTS AND CASE STUDIES
Chair: Steve Ormerod FIEEM (Elected IEEM President as of AGM on 19 November 2008)

09.00Introduction
09.05Environmental Mitigation Works Associated with the Development of Manchester Airport's Second Runway: 10 Years On
Tim Walmsley CEnv MIEEM (Manchester Airport)
09.30Low Tech Mitigation for High Tech Travel: the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Revisited
Mick Hall CEnv MIEEM (Arup)
09.55Cairngorm Monitoring Scheme: Successful Mitigation of Development in a Highly Sensitive Area
Cathy Mordaunt CEnv MIEEM (Mountain Environment Services)
10.20Lateral Thinking: Mitigation on the A77 Widening Scheme
Emma Roper MIEEM (Atkins)
10.45Discussion
11.00Coffee Break and split into parallel sessions
 

Protected Species Session (Part 1)
Chair: Chris Spray MIEEM (Scottish Environment Protection Agency)

Development Session
Chair: Sue Bell MIEEM (Scott Wilson)

11.30Millersneuk Wetland: Conserving and Enhancing a Water Vole Population through Mitigation
Peter Cosgrove MIEEM (Envirocentre)
Mitigating for a Large Housing Development in an Ecologically Sub-Prime Landscape
William Latimer CEnv MIEEM (Faber Maunsell)
11.55Great Crested Newt Mitigation: Are We Getting It Right?
Dorian Latham CEnv MIEEM (Halcrow) and Brett Lewis MIEEM(Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent)
Mitigation on Pipeline Projects
Brian Minshull CEnv MIEEM (BCM Environmental Services)
12.20Reptile Mitigation: Conservation Or Just Killing Them Slowly?
Jon Cranfield MIEEM (Herpetological Ltd)
Habitat Restoration at Novar Windfarm: Ten Years of Upland Monitoring at Scotland's First Large Windfarm
Tom Dargie CEnv MIEEM (Boreas Ecology)
12.45DiscussionDiscussion
13.00Lunch
 

Protected Species Session (Part 2)
Chair: Chris Spray MIEEM (Scottish EnvironmentProtection Agency)

Habitat Session
Chair: Sue Bell MIEEM (Scott Wilson)

14.00 Bat Mitigation: From Despair to Where?
Conor Kelleher AIEEM (Chairman, Bat Conservation Ireland)
Mitigation of People Pressures on the Dorset Heaths SPA/SAC/Ramsar Sites
Heather Tidball MIEEM (Dorset Urban Heaths Project) and Phil Sterling (Dorset Urban Heaths Partnership)
14.25Thinking Like A Badger: Mitigation Design and Management Planning
Kathryn Dennis (Halcrow) and Ann O’Leary AIEEM (Halcrow)
The Fall and Rise of Abberton Reservoir: Enhancing a Special Protection Area through Development
Professor David Hill CEnv FIEEM (David Hill Ecology & Environment) and Miranda Davis MIEEM (Essex & Suffolk Water)
14.50Mitigation for Butterflies
Paul Kirkland MIEEM (Butterfly Conservation Scotland) and Sam Ellis (Butterfly Conservation Scotland)
Large Scale Mitigation: The Broadland Flood Alleviation Project
Helen Markwell CEnv MIEEM (Halcrow)
15.15DiscussionDiscussion
15.30Coffee Break
 

FINAL SESSION
Chair: Steve Ormerod (Elected IEEM President as of AGM on 19 November 2008)

16.00Salvage Translocation: Designed Mitigation or Last Ditch Compensation?
John Box CEnv FIEEM (Atkins) and Katrena Stanhope CEnv MIEEM (Atkins)
16.25The Challenge of Building an Evidence Base for Mitigation
Professor Andrew Pullin (Centre for Evidence Based Conservation, University of Bangor)
17.00Conference ends

 



Special Dietary Requirements

When booking, please advise us if you have any special dietary requirements.



Confirmation of Bookings

Bookings will be confirmed by email.



Accommodation

Delegates are responsible for making their own accommodation arrangements. This means that everyone can stay in the accommodation of their choice. All the functions of the conference will take place in the Quality Hotel, Glasgow. The IEEM agreed rates (B&B) at this hotel are £55.00 per single room and £70.00 (£35.00 each) for a twin room. An accommodation booking form for this hotel is available to download here >>. Please fill out this form and return it directly to the hotel (address and fax number is on the fom). For information about alternative accommodation in Glasgow, please contact VisitScotland (Scottish Tourist Board) on 0845 22 55 121, or visit their website http://www.visitscotland.com/shop/accommodation/book-glasgow.



Field Excursions

Delegates will have the opportunity to sign up for one of the excursions upon registration. Due to the time of year and the possibility of bad weather, it is advisable to bring warm clothes and waterproofs/wellies. The field trips will return to the hotel by 17.00 to enable IEEM members to attend the Annual General Meeting which starts at 17.30.



Poster Papers

Participants are invited to bring along poster displays of ecological project work. Such presentations must be related solely to project work and must not contain advertising or promotional material relating to a private or commercial concern, with the exception of the name and logo of the employer, client and/or other organisation concerned. Please contact Nick Jackson for availability.



Advertising Opportunities

Publicity information may be inserted into conference packs at a cost of £150.00 (excl. VAT) per leaflet (A5, A4 or A3 folded to A4).
There is also a limited number of places for companies to book exhibition space at the conference at a cost of £200.00 (excl. VAT). For further information and availability contact Nick Jackson.



Conference Programme

This programme is correct at time of printing, but may be subject to change without notice. The most up to date programme will be available on the IEEM website.



Cancellation

In the event of cancellation, a 50% refund will be made if advised before 7 November 2008; no refunds after 7 November 2008. All cancellations must be received in writing. Substitutions can be made at any time.



Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

Attendance at this conference counts towards the CPD requirements for IEEM members.