NEWS

RECOGNITION OF AN ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER AND AN OUTSTANDING COMMITMENT TO THE ENVIRONMENT

Lord Redesdale is CIWEM's new Environmental Parliamentarian of the Year.

At CIWEM's Parliamentary Reception on 7 November 2011, president of CIWEM, David Wilkes, praised Lord Redesdale for his outstanding contribution to promoting environmental understanding.

CIWEM chose to recognise Lord Redesdale's illustrious career campaigning on environmental issues in the House of Lords and elsewhere, but most notably in his capacity as Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Overseas Development, International Development, Energy, and Agriculture, as well as his numerous committee positions, including vice chair of the All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group.

Outside  of Parliament, Lord Redesdale also finds time to chair Cranberry, a company specialising in the production of the most environmentally-friendly PC in the world.  He is also chair of the Red Squirrel Protection Partnership and the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association.

Parliamentary under-secretary for Natural Environment and Fisheries, Richard Benyon, accepted the award on Lord Redesdale's behalf before an audience of MPs, Lords and senior environmentalists. The minister paid tribute to both Lord Redesdale and CIWEM, most notably the Environmental Photographer of the Year competition, from which a selection of images were displayed.

He said: 'The three pillars of sustainable development can be seen in these images which highlight the poignancy of both poverty and consumerism.'

The host for the evening, shadow food and farming minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, also praised the images for illustrating, 'both beauty and horrible poverty,' visually demonstrating the importance of social justice and the need for a more equitable distribution of resources.

CIWEM continues to draw upon its breadth of expertise to inform and influence decision makers and policy frameworks helping to stimulate green growth and a green revolution.

The evening was sponsored by the NERC Water Security Knowledge Exchange Programme.