The Welsh Institute for Natural Resources - The Challenges

The Materials Challenge

By 2025, 30% of the raw materials needed for chemical manufacture in the EU could be obtained from plant-derived renewable resources, subject to appropriate research and development.

The Food Security Challenge

By 2050 the world will require increased crop production to feed 9 billion people.* Crop production methods will have to sustain the environment, preserve natural resources  and support livelihoods.

The Sustainability Challenge

Business as usual is not an option. Phenomona such as Global Climate Change, increasing population & migration for economic and ecological reasons, the spectre of Peak Oil and phosphorous famine and an increasing disparity between rich and poor all demand that we adapt our thinking and our behaviour in order to survive. This must happen at a corporate, governmental and individual level in order to drive real change.

Operational Divisions

Please visit the links below for details of our work in the areas of Food Security, Alternative Materials and Behaviour Change.

Centre for Advanced Research in Agricultural Development	Bio-Composites Centre	Sustainability Hub

*Royal Society Report: “Reaping the benefits: Science and the sustainable intensification of global agriculture”, October 2009