Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Since the mid 1970s I have sought to develop and pioneer the interface between environmental/ecological economics and the natural sciences, in the context of a range of environmental management situations. This work began with a focus on waste management and was extended into pollution control, ecosystem conservation and management and coastal/catchment management. Adaptation strategies for the mitigation of the effects of environmental change (including climate change) has also been a particular focus for my work. I have helped establish and have worked in two ESRC funded research centres as research fellow, executive director and director (The Public Sector Economics Research Centre, Leicester University and East Anglia 1976-1979; CSERGE 1991-2010). CSERGE's research programme from 2006 onwards is built around several major research projects on catchment management (ESRC funded) and ecosystem services valuation (Leverhulm Foundation funded) and coastal zone management and 'blue carbon' valuation (EU funded and NERC funded). In the mid 1980s I coordinated an ESRC programme to help build environmental economics research capacity in the UK. I have also sought to make my research as policy relevant as possible and to that end I have played an active role in the policy process itself.
I was Chairman of the Broads Authority and served on the East of England Regional Assembly until 2007. I also served on the East of England Sustainable Development Round Table, DEFRA's Flood Defence and Coastal Protection R and D panel and its Estuaries Research Advisory Group. I previously served on the Board of the National Rivers Authority, and the UK Environment Agency's Anglian Region Environment Protection Advisory Committee and was a member of the UK Climate Change Impacts Review Group. From 1995-1999, I was Chairman of the Office of Science and Technology's Foresight Panel on Natural Resources and the Environment. From 2008 to 2014 I was Chair of the Interagency Panel on Climate Change Adaptation in Broadland. I contributed to the UK National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA)programme, 2010-2011; and from 2012 to 2014 was Co-Chair of the UK NEA Follow On programme.I was also a member of the Royal Society Resilience Working Group 2012-2014.
In 1991 I was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and in 1996 an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Water and Environmental Management. In early 2000 I was awarded a CBE for my services to sustainable development. In 2014 I was awarded a DSc by Hull University and was rated in the top1% of scientists worldwide by the Thomson-Reuters citation analysis and tables. I have been an economic consultant and/or special advisor to a number of UK and overseas Government committees, departments, international and national agencies since the 1970s. I sit on the editorial boards of a number of academic journals and was Jt Chief Editor of Environmental and Resource Economics until 2012.
Additional Contacts
PhD Positions
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Key Research Interests
Environmental and ecological economics; ecosystem services; wetland valuation and management; coastal zone manangement, waste management.
Significant Publications
- Strassburg B, R. K. Turner, B Fisher, R Schaeffer and A, Lovett (2009) Reducing emissions from deforestation- The '' combined incentives'' mechanism and empirical simulations, Global Environmental Change 19: 265-278.
- Fisher B, R K Turner and P. Morling (2009) Defining and classifying ecosystem servcies for decision making, Ecological Economics, 68(3): 643-653.
- Fisher, B. and R.K.Turner et al (2008) Integrating ecosystem services and economic theory, Ecological Applications 18, 2050-2067.
- Turner, R.K. (2007) Limits to CBA in UK and European environmental policy: retrospects and future prospects. Environmental and Resource Economics 37(1), 253-269. DOI: 10.1007/s10640-007-9119-2
- Andrews, J.E., D. Burgess, R. Cave, E. Coombes, T. Jickells, D. Parks and R. K. Turner (2006) Biogeochemical value of managed realignment, Humber Estuary, UK, Science of the Environment, 371(1-3), 19-30. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.08.021
- Turner, R.K., J. Paavola, P. Cooper, S. Forber, V. Jessamy and S. Georgiou (2003) Valuing nature: Lessons learned and future research directions, Ecological economics, 46: 493-510, Doi: 10.1016/50921-8009(03)00189-7.
- Balmford, A., A. Bruner, P. Cooper, R. Costanza, S. Forber, R. Green, M. Jenkins, P. Jefferiss, V. Jessamy, J. Madden, K. Munroe, N. Myers, S. Naeem, J. Paavola, M. Rayment, S. Rosends, J. Roughgarden, K. Trumper and R.K. Turner (2002) Economic reasons for conserving wild nature, Science 297: 950-953. DOI: 10.1126/science.1073947
- Pearce, D.W. and R.K. Turner (1990) Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment, John Hopkins University Press, Balitmore, Maryland.
Areas of Expertise
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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MARine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning leading to Ecosystem Services
Forster, J., Ferrini, S., Nicholls, R., Nolte, S. & Turner, K.
1/09/22 → 31/08/26
Project: Research
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Meeting policy challenges for a responsible biodiversity based bio-economy in Colombia
Di Palma, F., Di Maria, C., Ferrini, S. & Turner, K.
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
6/08/20 → 31/08/21
Project: Research
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Preserving, Restoring and Managing Columbian Biodiversity Through Responsible Innovation - GROW Colombia
Di Palma, F., Di Maria, C., Ferrini, S., Turner, K., Grilli, G. & Huddart, J.
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
6/08/20 → 31/03/22
Project: Research
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Regional Natural Capital Complementary Accounts Network for Norfolk and Suffolk Area
Badura, T., Ferrini, S. & Turner, K.
1/05/20 → 31/07/21
Project: Research
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A decision support procedure for the bioeconomy transition: A Colombian case study
Grilli, G., Cantillo, T., Turner, K., Erazo, J., Murcia López, M. A., Valle Parra, J. S., Cardona, F. G. & Ferrini, S., Feb 2024, In: Journal of Environmental Management. 352, 120042.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Citations (Scopus)52 Downloads (Pure) -
Extending the Genuine Savings estimates with natural capital and poverty at the regional and national level in Italy
Di Gennaro, V., Ferrini, S. & Turner, R. K., Feb 2025, In: Ecological Economics. 228, 108433.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile5 Downloads (Pure) -
Assessing subjective preferences for river quality improvements: combining Q-methodology and choice experiment data
Hampson, D. I., Ferrini, S. & Turner, R. K., Mar 2022, In: Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy. 11, 1, p. 56-74 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile9 Citations (Scopus)36 Downloads (Pure) -
Perspectives on a Bio-Economy Development Path for Colombia. Cacao farming for peace building and rural development: GROW Colombia Project. Socioeconomic Programme: Report 4
Grilli, G., Cantillo, T., Ferrini, S., Richardson, J., Turner, K., Di Maria, C., Erazo, J., Azcárate, J. & Di Palma, F., 2022Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
Open Access -
The role of choice experiments in natural capital accounting approaches: fast track versus simulated exchange value in the Deben Estuary saltmarshes
Grilli, G., Ferrini, S., Luisetti, T. & Kerry Turner, R., 2022, In: Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. 65, 7, p. 1281-1300 20 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile11 Citations (Scopus)13 Downloads (Pure)