ISR Director, Prof Paul Ekins, has been appointed as a member on the International Resource Panel (IRP), part of the United Nations Environment Programme, for three years starting from May 2013.
The IRP was established in 2007 in response to a need to ensure a more sustainable use of natural resources and the environmental impacts of using resources. The IRP provides independent scientific assessments and expert advice to nations and policy makers on how to preserve natural resources without compromising human and economic growth.
The members of the IRP are considered experts in areas of sustainable resource management including: harvesting and extraction of resources from ecosystems, production (including cleaner production, life-cycle analysis and eco-design), consumption and recycling (including material flows) and socio-economic policies, incorporating resource economics, policy and trade.
Prof Ekins is one of only two UK appointees to the panel, joining Jacqueline McGlade, who is just finishing a term as Executive Director of the European Environment Agency.