The Natural Resources Institute (NRI) of the University of Greenwich’s has been awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for its work on sustainable pest control.

For millions of the poorest people, especially in the developing world, certain species of pests bring dangerous diseases, death and hunger, and destroy crops, infrastructure and livelihoods.

Importantly, NRI’s work in this area focusses on providing sustainable, innovative pest management solutions, as alternatives to chemicals and poisons, which can be expensive and ineffective, and can severely harm the users, their communities, animals and the wider environment.

Working in collaboration with partners from over 50 countries, NRI’s interdisciplinary teams of specialists work together with the communities affected by pests in the UK, and worldwide. They aim to better understand the risks posed by pests and how they occur, their interaction with their human, animal or plant hosts, and the benefits of safely and sustainably controlling them. Our research has generated more than 200 scientific publications in recent years and our work has had significant impact.

NRI’s pest management programme looks specifically at four key areas:

• Blackfly transmitting ‘river blindness’
• Rodents spreading disease and destroying crops and infrastructure
• Mosquitoes transmitting dangerous diseases: malaria, dengue and Zika
• Insect pests threatening industries

The main external funders are UK Research and Innovation, UK Department for International Development (DFID), European Union, African Union, World Health Organisation, United Nations Development Programme, World Bank, the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board and the private sector.