INSTITUTE FOR BIOLOGICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND RURAL SCIENCES

Early day motion 713, tabled 16 January 2008 by Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat). Signed by 24 members.

That this House notes that agricultural and land-based environmental research in Ceredigion has a long and proud history, which can be traced back to the formation of the Welsh Plant Breeding Station (WPBS) in 1919; notes that the WPBS first received government funding in 1956, and that ever since research at the site has played an essential part in informing government environmental and agricultural policy; pays tribute also to the work of the current Institute in researching the potential of crops for energy; recognises the significant contribution that manipulating animal diets and obtaining energy from biomass could make to reducing methane and carbon dioxide emissions; further notes that the new Institute for Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) is set to become a world renowned centre of excellence for teaching, research and enterprise, building on the established reputations of Aberystwyth University and the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research and re-establishing a historical link between the two; urges the Government to ensure that future research at IBERS is fully funded, in view of its stated commitment to tackle climate change and support sustainable farming; and further urges the new IBERS to maintain the excellent farm research facilities at Trawscoed.

Signatures by party: Liberal Democrat 8, Labour 7, Conservative 4, DUP 2, Plaid Cymru 2, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1.