University wins £10m backing for centre to study effects of biodiversity change

A NEW centre dedicated to researching changes in biodiversity and their effects on humans will be established at the University of York with funding of up to £10m over the next decade.

The Leverhulme Trust Board has announced its support for the venture, confirming it is one of three projects to have bid successfully for funding from the 2018 Leverhulme Research Centre awards.

Other recipients are at Oxford University and Imperial College London.

The role of the university’s new Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity will be to explore a range of different scientific, social and cultural perspectives on the current geological age – the period over which human activity has been the dominant influence on both climate and the environment.

Prof Chris Thomas, director of the new research facility, said: “The centre will bring together world-leading researchers to understand the neglected societal and biological processes that underpin biodiversity gains, in addition to examining the causes and consequences of losses. A deep understanding of the cultural as well as biological processes that drive changes to the world’s biodiversity is needed if humanity is to live sustainably on our planet.” Researchers from the University of York will contribute to studies at the new centre, drawing on experts in archaeology, biology, computer science, environment and politics, among others.