NRI WINS QUEEN’S ANNIVERSARY PRIZE FOR ‘SMART & SUSTAINABLE’ PEST CONTROL

21st November 2019
by secretary

Agrinatura News

NRI has been awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for its ground-breaking work on balancing pest control with protecting the environment. This prize recognises a significant body of work from an award-winning institute combining the skills and experience of natural and social scientists to tackle the challenges of controlling pests that have an impact on human, animal and plant health. Crucially, this work focuses on providing sustainable, innovative solutions to serious insect and animal pests.

Pests can be found everywhere; for millions of the poorest people, especially in the developing world, certain species of pests bring dangerous diseases, death and hunger, and destroy crops, infrastructure and livelihoods.

Many control measures have focussed on chemicals and poisons, which can be expensive and ineffective, and can severely harm the users, their communities, animals and the wider environment. Over-application of chemicals for pest control has had significant environmental and health impacts and there are concerns about declining insect populations, including pollinators.

NRI’s pest management programme looks specifically at four key areas, including: blackfly transmitting ‘river blindness’, rodents spreading disease and destroying crops and infrastructure, mosquitoes transmitting dangerous diseases including malaria, dengue and Zika, and insect pests threatening the horticulture industry.

The Director of NRI, Professor Andrew Westby, says, “the Award of this Queen’s Anniversary Prize recognises NRI’s world-leading work that balances pest control with protecting our environment. In line with NRI’s mission, our pest management work is focussed on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, with particular emphasis on promoting sustainable agriculture and climate action, reducing hunger, achieving food and nutrition security, and ensuring health and wellbeing. NRI’s combination of academic excellence and practical application supports our postgraduate and undergraduate programmes where our students learn to become future leaders in the field.”

The Queen’s Anniversary Prizes recognise outstanding work by UK colleges and universities that shows quality and innovation and delivers real benefit to the wider world and public through education and training. The Prizes are the highest national Honour awarded in UK further and higher education and are granted by The Queen every two years.

For more information and to speak to an expert please contact: Linden Kemkaran on 07740 818526 or email or landline. Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Kent, ME4 4TB, UKTel: +44 (0)1634 883626 | Email: l.m.kemkaran@greenwich.ac.uk | Web: www.nri.org |

NRI WINS QUEEN’S ANNIVERSARY PRIZE FOR ‘SMART & SUSTAINABLE’ PEST CONTROL

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