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Whats new...

• 7th May meeting presentation & associated reports now available to download
• Environment Kernow - Envirolimits report now available to download
• REN Bulletin April 2008
• EU Funding Programmes focus group update on the Local Action (LEADER / Axis 4) part of the Regional Development Programme

Mental well-being and design of the urban environment

Wednesday 28th February Seminar at the University of the West of England, Bristol.

Evidence is mounting that some of the determinants of mental health reside in our living environments. The built environment, including road networks and where we locate housing, creates the human habitat and modifies the natural habitat and our relationship to it.

• Are designers and planners building-in triggers for mental illness?
• Can we develop planning processes that will lead to neighbourhoods that support well-being?
• What do we already know and what further evidence do we need?

The popular seminar series hosted by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Healthy Cities and Urban Policy reconvenes with a theme of linking health with sustainable development.

Speakers include:

Open discussions, refreshments provided.

Registration: Places are limited. Please let Gill Weadon at the Faculty of the Built Environment know if you can attend – 0117 328 3598 or Gill.Weadon@uwe.ac.uk. More information about this event is available on the University of the West of England's website.

Convergence Programme for Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly 2007 - 2013

Convergence Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 2007-2013
Regional partners are currently preparing a Programme to guide the use
of EU Structural Funds in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Further
information about this can be here.

This Convergence Programme will be subject to a Strategic Environmental
Assessment. The Scoping report for the SEA can be downloaded here.

State of the South West 2007 report published

The State of the South West 2007 is now available. For the first time, this report is available both in hard copy and as a 'live' web version.

The State of the South West is a comprehensive review of the South West of England's economic, social, environmental and cultural life. It describes the current position and trends and, without making policy recommendations, helps set an informed context in which policy for the region can be developed. It has been written by a wide partnership, drawing upon a broad range of expertise within the region.

This report is a collaborative exercise involving the major regional organisations responsible for public services and other strategic contributors such as the Environment Agency, the Public Health Observatory, Culture South West and South West Forum all working as part of the Observatory partnership.

State of the South West has been produced primarily to inform policy and decision makers, at local and regional levels, in the public sector. It is a resource that will support the work of senior representatives in regional and local government bodies, and for elected members. However, the scope of the report and its contribution to regional intelligence has a far broader potential. It will be equally useful for business, education, voluntary, community, and funding organisations, and not least for the public; indeed all stakeholders with a part to play in shaping the region's future. Although the report is regional in focus - not least for reasons of size - the Observatory is very conscious of the need for understanding local difference.

The Environment & Natural Resources chapter contains a detailed summary of 26 environmental topics.

New one-stop shop of wildlife information for farmers

FarmWildife is a new website aimed at providing wildlife information for the farming community.

Launched by the RSPB in partnership with a wide range of other conservation organisations (including Game Conservancy Trust, English Nature, FWAG and Rural Development Services), this website provides:

• Case studies - learn from the experiences of other farmers doing conservation work – what they have done, why they are doing it and what has it achieved for their wildlife and their farm businesses
• Discussion forum - your chance to post ideas, ask questions and read discussions on how to benefit wildlife through farm management.
• Information library - The best information on farmland wildlife conservation and the schemes available can be found here through links to the relevant websites

Tips on managing for farmland birds and as well as how to provide safe nesting sites, food in winter and in summer, can also be found in the farming pages of the RSPB website.

Stop Climate Chaos campaign

Urgent action is needed against climate change - the use of fossil fuels is the main cause of global warming, which is already having a disastrous effect on species and habitats world-wide. Just one example of this is the catastrophic effect on breeding seabirds - hundreds of thousands of kittiwakes, guillemots and terns have failed to breed in Scotland in recent summers because the warming North Sea has caused plankton to move further north, in turn resulting in the disappearence of the sandeels that seabirds eat. Other changes, including sea level rise and droughts, threaten habitats such as reedbeds and river systems.

The RSPB is a member of Stop Climate Chaos. This coalition of environment, development, faith-based, women's and other organisations is calling on the UK Government to do more to combat climate change. To find out more about the RSPB's work on climate change, how it is affecting the environment and how you can do your bit to help - including signing a petition demanding action - by clicking onto:

Find out more:

http://www.rspb.org.uk/climate/