| CARING FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT:
JOTTINGS FROM FAIR ISLE by Nick Riddiford and Emma Perring |
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The Fair Isle community’s entry into the Northern Periphery Programme was prompted by a strong feeling that we had a responsibility to maintain our high quality environment and concerns that, if we did not do anything, the resources which are so vital to us and our environment would be lost or severely damaged. The SafeinHerit project has given a focus to our efforts, but is only part of our endeavours. These jottings outline some of the other events and ventures in which we have been involved recently.
Recycling and the Clearance of Bruk Recycling has been slow to come to many parts of Britain, including Shetland. Nevertheless, the Fair Isle primary school adopted a stance of environmental responsibility as long ago as 1996, calling itself the Fair Isle Eco-school and introducing a collection system for recycling batteries, coloured and clear glass and aluminium cans. The island community was quick to respond, and now these items are routinely recycled through the specially constructed collection centre outside the school. Even before this the entire Fair Isle community, led by the schoolchildren, undertook an annual tidy up of the island including the beaches as part of the Shetland “redd-up” every May. A glance at the types of materials, and any labelling which had withstood the ravages of the sea, indicated that the bruk (rubbish) had its origins far from Fair Isle – from Italy to Greenland and beyond. The Voar Redd-Up (Spring clean up), organised by the Shetland Amenity Trust, continues to be a successful community event in Fair Isle. Not only that, but it is run as a sponsorship event, the money raised going to local charities and Fair Isle school funds.
A further environmentally responsible step forward was taken during the 2000-01 winter with the recycling of Agricultural baling plastic. This new recycling scheme was piloted by the Shetland Amenity Trust. Fair Isle asked to join and it was a huge success. There was a 100% take up by Fair Isle crofters. Crofters continue to work the small plots of land on the Isle, in a traditional sustainable manner.
Fair Isle is doing everything it can to maintain a pristine environment and unsullied, breathtaking landscapes. Despite cleaning our beaches every year, however, it is a never-ending task – because the bruk keeps on coming. Monitoring by the schoolchildren of sample beaches over a period of years, as part of the Marine Conservation Society’s annual Beachwatch project, demonstrates no reduction in items coming ashore. Seafarers must take similar responsibility. However large the sea or ocean, it does not swallow everything up. Please, everyone who uses the sea or coastal zones, resist the temptation to jettison rubbish at sea and USE THE PROPER DISPOSAL FACILITIES ASHORE.
The Cultural Heritage as a Resource In 1999, as part of a UK Millennium Project, Fair Isle Marine Environment and Tourism Initiative teamed up with the Fair Isle Museum, run by the George Waterston Memorial Trust, to develop a Fair Isle Maritime project for SCRAN – the Scottish Cultural Resource Access Network. The project, which comprises photographs of the maritime heritage spanning the twentieth century, accompanied by captions, has recently been loaded on to the SCRAN resource base. The records can be retrieved from the Projects page on the SCRAN website (http://www.scran.ac.uk) or by entering “0047 in project” in the first box on the Quick Search page. Unlicensed users can access the captions and thumbnail images. To access the large images on screen a licence is required. Details can be obtained from Conal Anderson (conala@scran.ac.uk). SCRAN project officer, Andrew Freeman, commented that “the project looks great and provides an invaluable addition to the SCRAN resource base”, our thanks to Andrew for the information, and to him and his colleagues for their hard work in guiding us through the preparation and implementation process. We are already receiving requests from researchers wishing to use the resource for their own studies.
A Flying Start – Local Biodiversity Action in Scotland Fair Isle has been featured in this report as a case study of community involvement in the development of a Local Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP). A Flying Start celebrates the progress made in the process of LBAPs within Scotland, reflecting wide recognition of the significance of biodiversity within the country. A Flying Start is designed to illustrate what has been achieved, to share best practice between the various initiatives, to help bring inspiration to other projects and to give credit for what has already been achieved. The report was initiated by the Scotland Biodiversity Group (SBG), a partnership between departments of government, government agencies, voluntary organisations and Scotland’s universities and business. It has the task of supporting and guiding the LBAP processes. Local Biodiversity Action Plans were proposed as a way of stimulating effective local action for national priorities identified in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, as well as for species and habitats which are particularly cherished or valued in local areas of Scotland. It was envisaged as a new focus for conservation work already under way within local authority areas; and a means of stimulating new projects, bringing all the relevant bodies and individuals together within a shared perspective. Partnership is a key theme – recognising that everyone has a stake in their local environment and the quality of life. The original Scottish Guidance for LBAPS stated: ‘The challenge is to change attitudes and to create a wider awareness of the value of biodiversity and its relationship to our social and economic life as part of a wider strategy for sustainable development.’ The report presents a number of broad themes. It provides a selection of the issues, opportunities and achievements of the LBAP process; and it acts as a signpost to what could be achieved in the future in any locality or in any area of interest: These include:
Fair Isle is given as an example of a community providing support for biodiversity: One of the report conclusions is that LBAPs have a major role to play in making biodiversity real to people, offering opportunities to involve individuals, communities and organisations in many different ways. It is acknowledged that national support will be essential to add momentum to what is being achieved locally and give an identity and profile to biodiversity work across Scotland.
Reference:
Scottish Biodiversity Group A Flying
Start: Local Biodiversity Action in
Scotland,
Edinburgh: The Stationary Office, 2001. Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Definitions abound, but in essence ICZM is a process which brings all those involved in the development, management and use of the coast within a framework which allows for considered, sustainable planning measures to be initiated which are of long term benefit for the resource and all those who rely on it. The EU recognises the intrinsically interlinked nature of environmental and socio-economic goals within coastal areas; there is a real need to protect natural ecosystems and improve the economic and social well-being of coastal zones and help them develop their full potential as modern, vibrant communities. In addition the EU believes Europe’s coastal zones probably face a larger number of economic, social and environmental problems than any other areas of the EU, with serious management and planning challenges. In 2000, the European Commission published recommendations for an ICZM strategy for the EU. The need for EU-wide measures was highlighted, as well as for each of the 15 Member States to develop their own national ICZM strategy. On 5th July 2001, the European Parliament agreed to the text of the Recommendation from the Commission for ICZM by 392 votes to 101, with 9 abstentions. The European Parliament aims to take the process further by proposing a binding legal framework for action by member states. Within these, now agreed upon, principles of ICZM in the EU, the importance of putting local stakeholders at the heart of the process is appreciated, since “only the people who live and work in coastal zones know the real challenges their particular regions face…..What the higher levels of government can do…. is to provide support and guidance to …. local initiatives.” It is encouraging to read that the SafeinHerit Network has already addressed all the “specific principles embodied in the Strategy”. Our NPP project (and FIMETI’s maritime sustainable management planning work) include the principles of: a broad holistic perspective; a long term perspective; adaptive management during a gradual process; reflecting local specificity; working with natural processes; participatory planning; and use of a combination of instruments. The other listed principle, “support and involvement of all relevant administrative levels…[since] local actors, on their own, cannot solve the problems of the coastal zone”, is an aspiration beyond our powers, but which we hope to achieve as a result of our Network activities and achievements.
Quotes and information for this item were taken from: European Commission, EU focus on coastal zones, Luxembourg: Office for official Publications of the European Communities, 2001. Firn, J.R. & McGlashan, D.J. 2001. An Initial Assessment of the Socio-Economic and Environmental Benefits from ICZM in Scotland. A Report to the Scottish Coastal Forum. Firn Crichton Roberts Ltd, Pittenween and University of Dundee, April 2001.
Initial assessment of the socio-economic and environmental benefits from Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) in Scotland A very interesting study has been published with the above title. The study used methods developed for a European study in 2000 to assess the costs and benefits of the nine local coastal partnership initiatives established in Scotland. The most important finding, and most gratifying to us, was that these initiatives are extremely good value for money. Using a concept known as Annual Values of Ecosystem Services (AVES), the study concluded that Scotland’s coastal zone up to 1 km offshore generated a conservative estimate of £4.5 billion of AVES, equivalent to about 7.5% of Scotland’s GDP. The estimated AVES contributions for individual local coastal initiatives range from £11.6 million for Fair Isle to £3.6 billion for the Solway Firth. In calculating these figures, the study took into account a range of factors. The qualitative benefits of our initiatives included: better partner understanding, a greater public awareness of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), improved stakeholder decision-making, wider agreement on priorities, more sustainable tourism and improved spatial planning. Quantitative benefits included habitat protection, gains to local economic infrastructure and business, and enhanced tourism and recreation. In assessing the benefits, the study found that the initiatives “have only just begun to invest in the operational programmes and projects necessary to begin enhancing the environmental and economic quality of their coastal zones in a sustainable manner”, and concluded that “[t]he major quantitative socio-economic and environmental benefits will thus be generated in the future.” In other words, our efforts to safeguard our environment and the resources it contains is contributing to the maintenance of high economic as well as environmental conditions at a very low cost – and is likely to be even more cost effective in the future. This is encapsulated in the study’s conclusion that “the value of the socio-economic benefits generated by ICZM initiatives are significant, and represent important socio-economic gains to coastal nations such as Scotland. Continued support for ICZM initiatives and activities should be given national policy priority, as expenditure on such initiatives represents a relatively cost-effective and productive means of achieving significant and sustainable economic and environmental benefits for coastal communities and the national economy.”
Other points emerging from the study included:
The study was
conducted by John Firn (Firn Crichton Roberts Ltd) and Derek McGlashan
(University of Dundee) for the Scottish Coastal Forum. Reference:Firn, J.R. & McGlashan, D.J. 2001. An Initial Assessment of the Socio-Economic and Environmental Benefits from ICZM in Scotland. A Report to the Scottish Coastal Forum. Firn Crichton Roberts Ltd, Pittenween and University of Dundee, April 2001.
Lessons learned from Local Coastal Management PartnershipsFIMETI and the other eight Scottish initiatives have also come under scrutiny in another study. The Lessons learned study responds to recent proposals and recommendations by the European Commission and European Parliament that Member States “should adopt proactive and integrated approaches to the planning and management of coastal areas and their associated natural resources”. This ICZM strategy also “aims to act as a model for introducing sustainable development in other parts of the European territory”. Lessons learned The most important finding of the study was that “examples of good practice had evolved” from the Scottish initiatives and they now “provide models for managing other coastal areas in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe”. Other findings included:
References Burbridge, P.R., 2001. Lessons learned from Local Coastal Management Partnerships. Report to the Scottish Coastal Forum, the Scottish Executive and Scottish Natural Heritage, Edinburgh, July 2001. European Commission. Communication from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament in Integrated Zone Management: A Strategy for Europe. COM (2000) 547 final. European Commission, Brussels.
See also: www.scotland.gov.uk/environment/coastalforum “reports and papers” section, Lessons learned information sheet issued by the Scottish Coastal Forum, as Information Sheet 3 (Coastline Scotland), August 2001.
The Coastal Management reports and FIMETI Some very important messages emerge from the two Scottish Coastal Forum commissioned studies with implications for the future of our projects. These can be summarised as follows:
With a slight alteration to replace ICZM by Community Development through Sustainable Resource Management, most of these messages also apply to the SafeinHerit Network project.
Nick Riddiford & Emma Perring Fair Isle Marine Environment and Tourism Initiative and SafeinHerit Network 14th September 2001 |