Beddington's research applies biology and economics to the
sustainable management of
natural resources. From 1968 to 1971 Beddington was a research assistant at the University of Edinburgh. Among his first published work was a report analysing a survey of motivations of blood donors which appeared as an appendix to
Richard Titmuss' 1970 book
The Gift Relationship. From 1971 to 1984 he was a lecturer in population biology at the
University of York. and was appointed Professor of Applied Population Biology there in 1991. Beddington has been a specialist in the economics and biology of sustainable management of renewable resources, and has previously advised UK ministers on scientific and environmental issues. He has chaired the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' science advisory panel and the Defence Scientific Advisory Committee, and is a member of the Natural Environmental Research Council. He has also advised the European Commission and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation.
Chief Scientific Adviser On 1 October 2007, it was announced by the Prime Minister
Gordon Brown that Beddington would succeed Professor Sir
David King as the
Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government with effect from 1 January 2008. His annual remuneration for this role was £165,000. Beddington was closely involved in helping the British government formulate its response to the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the
eruptions of Icelandic volcanoes and
ash dieback disease in the UK. In March 2009 Beddington addressed the
Sustainable Development UK conference warning that the world faced a "
perfect storm" involving food shortages, scarce water and insufficient energy resources. These, he explained, would threaten to led to
public unrest and
territorial disputes. Mass migration from the worst-affected regions would occur as people flee for more sustainable regions. "We head into a perfect storm in 2030, because all of these things are operating on the same time frame," he argued.
Successor In April 2013 Beddington was succeeded by
Mark Walport.
Awards and honours Professor Beddington was awarded the Heidelberg Award for Environmental Excellence in June 1997, was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society in 2001 and was appointed
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2004, in recognition of his services to fisheries science and management. He was also appointed an Honorary
Fellow in 2011. In July 2014, he was recognised by the Government of Japan for his contributions to strengthening the co-operation between Japan and the UK in the areas of science and technology. ==Personal life==