Rural policy expert appointed as Government advisor

Environment Minister Andrea Leadsom has made Professor Winter a board member of Natural England, the body which ensures the natural environment is conserved, enhanced and managed for the benefit of present and future generations.

The appointment will take effect from 1 September 2016 for three years.

Professor Winter said: “I am delighted to be taking on a position to assist Government with implementing its priorities for the natural environment. To be doing so now as policy is reviewed and refreshed in the light of Brexit will be particularly interesting.”

Professor Winter is currently Professor of Land Economy and Society in the Land, Environment, Economics and Policy (LEEP) Institute at the University of Exeter. He is also a Co-Director of the Food Security & Land Research Alliance, a partnership between the universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter, Rothamsted Research and Duchy College. He is co-director of Defra’s Sustainable Intensification Research Platform.

He chairs the UNESCO North Devon Biosphere Partnership and the Uplands Alliance. Professor Winter is also a member of the governing board of Rothamsted Research, and chairs the Stakeholder Group for the Avon Demonstration Test Catchment. He is also a member of the National Trust’s South West Regional Advisory Board.