Dr Pam Berry appointed by Defra

Mansfield’s Supernumerary Fellow in Geography, Dr Pam Berry, has been appointed by the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) to help inform and shape key future policy decisions. Pam is a Senior Research Fellow in the Ecosystems group at the Environmental Change Institute in Oxford. She has been appointed by Defra as part of a new Systems Research Programme, which will look at some of the UK’s most pressing environmental issues to inform and shape key future policy decisions.

The Programme will focus on five key areas, taking a ‘systems-mapping’ approach that will be overseen by senior Academic Fellows. The five areas are Rural Land Use, Food, Air Quality, Marine, and Resources and Waste. Pam will be overseeing Rural Land Use. The aim of the research is to identify how a policy change in one area might affect another, and to make sure the connections between environmental issues are properly considered.  An example of a ‘systems mapping’ approach might be factoring in marine, waste management, landscape and other issues when looking at future policies on plastic.

The project will support Defra’s extensive EU Exit work in order that future policies are informed by the best possible research. Pam will spend part of her time supporting Defra in this project alongside continuing her academic roles. 

Read more about the research on Defra’s website.