Dear friends, partners, students and colleagues of NRI,
2021 has turned out to be another challenging year – on a global, local and personal scale, most notably due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, the obstacles to achieving gender and
social equality, and ongoing violence and conflict around the world. Yet in the face of such challenges, the NRI community has continued to work to find sustainable solutions that make a difference.
This festive season, I would like to look to the future with hope: for a better year in 2022 for all of us, where we can continue to collaborate with our partners overseas and in the UK, to find new solutions to emerging global challenges, and to learn together.
Every year, the United Nations designates a number of focus themes; 2022 has been designated the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development and the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture – themes that exist at the intersection of science and development, where NRI also operates and where we continue in our mission to generate, apply and share knowledge and develop skills for a sustainable world.
After another year marked by the need to “follow the science”, these designations highlight the need for the scientific and development communities to come together in a spirit of collaboration, to carry out research and devise solutions that contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Wishing you all a healthy, peaceful and prosperous festive season and New Year,
Professor Andrew Westby,
Director, Natural Resources Institute