We are living in an era of unprecedented environmental change. Concerns over climate change, loss of biodiversity, air and water pollution and unsustainable use of natural resources are just some of the issues of current concern. They have highlighted the need for high quality long-term datasets to interpret environmental trends and inform policy making. What are the impacts of industrial pollutants on forests? What are the impacts of climate change on biodiversity? How does land use affect water quality?

To answer questions like these, there is increasing interest among scientists in new monitoring techniques; new observation networks; new methods of modelling and analysis for detecting change; and new methods of using scientific data and information to address user and policy needs.

New understanding and refined methods of detection are essential if we are to provide valuable data to help address today’s major environmental concerns.

Why do we need a conference?
Society has always had to deal with environmental change, but only recently has the relevance of long-term observations in dealing with that change been recognised. The final decade of the 20th century has given new scientific respectability to long-term monitoring, but with this comes the responsibility to ensure that ‘mindless monitoring’ is also a thing of the past and that future observation programmes are tailored to meet the needs of Society.

This Conference is an opportunity to review progress, to learn from experiences across different disciplines and to consider improvements that need to be made to monitoring programmes in the 21st century.

DETECTING
ENVIRONMENTAL
CHANGE

Science and Society

17-20 July 2001, London, UK

Incorporating the annual meeting
of the International Long-Term
Environmental Research Network
on Monday 16th July

Change is
one of the few
things in life
of which we can
be certain