Chris Spray is an emeritus and honorary professor of Water Science and Policy at the UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science, University of Dundee, and a board member of The Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. Chris’s research interests cover the environmental science-policy interface, with a focus on water and wetland environments both at home and abroad, including biodiversity and nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation. A past Director of Environmental Science for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and, prior to that Environment Director for the Northumbrian Water Group, Chris has extensive experience in environmental regulation and delivery, including a year’s secondment to the Welsh Government to assist working on their emerging environmental legislation.

Chris has given evidence to the UK and Scottish parliaments on biodiversity, climate change, flooding and marine science, and played a key role in developing Scottish legislation on flood risk management. He was a past member of Scottish Natural Heritage’s Scientific Advisory Committee, a member of the UK Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment and chaired the UK Special Protection Area/Ramsar Scientific Working Group. He has been a trustee of several national environmental NGOs, with a particular interest in ecosystem restoration, governance and stakeholder engagement.

Chris has a first class honours degree in General Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and a PhD in Zoology from the University of Aberdeen.