Dr Gavin Haughton CGeog

Biography

I support the monitoring of biodiversity across England by providing advice on several new mapping products from Defra's Natural Capital Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) programme. With my expertise in Earth Observation, I advise on Living England Map, England Peat Map, Trees outside of Woodlands, Young Trees Map, Tree Species Map and the Botanical Heatmap. My first role in Defra was to ensure Defra's methods and science were rigorous, and academic expertise was utilised to advise on implementing Government policy. I helped organise the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), and its sub-groups for Animal Exotic Diseases and the Biodiversity Expert Committee. Previously, I was a GIS Advisor at the Environment Agency working on Boosting Action on Surface Water where I reprocessed Local Authority flood modelling to produce a national surface water flood map. In 2020, I created the Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee’s Natural Flood Mapping opportunity and priority map. I completed a PhD in using experimental methods in GIS to develop new insights into the interaction between faulting and volcanism at Mid-ocean ridges.