Policy and Law debate 11th November 2008.

This House believes that conservation of the natural environment is more important than economic growth

On Tuesday the 11th November 2008, the Marine Environmental Management programme proposed the argument that conservation of the natural environment was more important than economic growth. The Marine Leisure Management programme opposed the motion.
Within the debate I proposed one argument as well as providing the opening statement for the Marine Environmental Management programme. Within the opening statement I outlined our argument and point forward the following points. My main point was the reliance that the human race has on the natural environment, whether it be for pollinating our crops, providing us with oxygen or maintaining our water quality. The human race has to have a symbiotic relationship with the environment in order to exist.

I then went on to point out the growth in eco tourism and green space activities whether it be guided sea safaris or people visiting the countryside for its aesthetic value. A few facts that I found on the RuSource (Rural Information Network) website points out exactly how large this sector is beginning to come. The facts from 2006 were summarised in a report for Natural England and are as follows:
· 13.5 million people visited natural trails
· 21.6 million people visited open access land
· 75 million people made day visits to undeveloped coastline.
· On average, each person spent £13.99.
These facts show the growth within this sector. An article in Marine Policy Journal (Douvere, F. 2008) points out the growth in the ecotourism industry has been growing steadily at a rate of 12% since 1990. This is compared to the cruise ship industry which the article notes is growing at a rate of 8% per annum.

My argument in the opening statement was concluded by pointing out how little we actually know about our natural environment, with around 5-10 million species still to be discovered and named. This therefore indicates that we need to put the natural environment as our priority in order for our existence to continue.

My argument within the debate was the importance of algae as a natural resource and how its destruction and over exploitation could have negative consequences. Algae is an important resource within our environment for many reasons. It is a highly productive biomass which contributes to the nutrient cycle and forms the base of many food chains, it’s a carbon sink due to its rapid rate of photosynthesis and its provides coastal protection by absorbing wave energy.

The photo below shows kelp on the Cornish Coastline.

Algae extraction is also a large industry with 7.5- 8 million tonnes being extracted each year. The algae is used for a variety of products such as alginates, fertilisers and food products. Extraction methods mean that that only the top parts of the algae plants are removed, which although leaving the holdfast and stype intact, it removes the reproductive parts of the plant making it slower to regrow and recover than it would in a natural system.

Examples can be seen of when natural balances are upset, in Atlantic coastal waters, where a fungal wasting disease devastated algae and eelgrass populations. Although there is no current over exploitation, this is a delicate balance that can be easily upset and if there is a continual growth within this sector, with the investigation of biofuels from algae’s and fashionable beauty products containing algae’s, it can be seen how damaging this could be in other areas.

The video below shows one example of kelp forest importance and problems with their destruction.




The other key debating points put forward by the marine environmental management programme were as follows.
· Aquaculture and over fishing which has caused devastation of fish stocks and destruction of local fish sources.
· The moral issues of economic growth.
· The local issues of cruise ship expansion in Falmouth and the associated dredging plans. On a more global issue, pollution worldwide caused by shipping and cruise ships.
· Deforestation and palm oil plantations reducing biodiversity and natural resources by replacing natural rainforest with a monoculture.

The key debating points put forward by the Marine Leisure Management programme in favour of economic growth were as follows.
· Economic downturn and a need for a stimulation of economy on a global and local scale.
· A 300 berth Marina in Falmouth Harbour in order to accommodate more pleasure craft.
· The planning acceptation of the Trump Golf Course and its affects on local economy and jobs.
· The expansion of Heathrow airport.
· Dredging of Falmouth Harbour and cruise ship terminal expansion as a positive impact on local economy in Falmouth.

As a group I feel that we worked well together and were able to deliver some clear and well researched arguments in order to support our proposed argument. I do, however, feel that we would have been more prepared if we had met earlier and understood how our argument was going to develop. If this had been done then we would have been able to go through, in more detail, the discovery processes with the opposing team in order to develop more productive and detailed counter arguments. As a group and on a personal level I feel that we were able, through research, to understand that the issues arising were far more complex than the argument proposed by our group.

We were in agreement with each other that some exploitation of the natural environment has to exist in order for anthropogenic activities to continue. We agreed that awareness of the natural environment and its importance is key, as well as move towards sustainable development and working with our environment. This, we found out within our closing statements, was the view of the opposing, Marine Leisure Management team, as well as ourselves. On a personal level I feel that more research has to be put in the natural environment, especially the marine environment in order for us to understand how our activities are affecting our surroundings.

References

Challinor, S, Covington, S, 2008. Falmouth Cruise ship project Environmental statement: Non technical summary. [online] Available at:
http://www.falmouthport.co.uk/commercial/html/documents/EIANon-TechnicalSummaryOct08.pdf [accessed 20th November 2008]

Dugan, E, 2008.’Act now to save our natural environment or Britain’s most precious wildlife will be lost forever’ The Independent. [internet] 19th May. Available at: www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature. [accessed 10th November 2008]

Douvere, F. 2008. The importance of marine spatial planning in advancing ecosystem-based sea use management. Marine Policy,[online] 32 pp762-771. Available at:
www.elsevier.com/locate/marpol [accessed 8th November 2008]

GHK Consulting Ltd. 2004. Revealing the value of the Natural Environment. A report to Defra. [online] Available at:
https://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/reports/rvne.pdf [accessed 20th November 2008]

International ecotourism society. 2006. Fact sheet: Global ecotourism. [online] Available at:
http://www.ecotourism.org/webmodules/webarticlesnet/templates/eco_template.aspx?articleid=15&zoneid=2 [accessed 20th November 2008]

Scotland’s Living Landscapes. Kelp Forest: A hidden resource. [Online] Available at: http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/livinglandscapes/kelp/intro.asp [accessed 20th November 2008]

Worm et al, 2006. Impacts of biodiversity loss on ocean ecosystem services. Science, 314 (3) (2006) pp 787-790

The Life Cycle, Use and Exploitation of Ostrea edulis (Native Oyster)

This blog sets out to summarise the life-cycle, exploitation and use of Ostrea edulis using resources researched for a literature review of the same title.

Ostrea edulis (also known as the Native Oyster) is a protandrous alternating hermaphrodite. This means that they start life as a male and produce sperm, after which they change sex to female and produce eggs. The change happens according to a temperature trigger and they change sex at least twice during their spawning season which occurs between April and September. This is why Native oysters are not harvested between these months. The eggs are fertilized when the externally released sperm are filtered through the oysters across the eggs which are stored in the mantle cavity. Once fertilized the eggs spend 8-10 days in incubation before being released as swimming larva. The larva produced spend around 8-10 days swimming around in what is known as a pelagic phase, before settling on a surface, attaching themselves with a form of concrete and maturing into the Oyster we visually recognize.

Fig. 1 Native oyster. MarLIN website


Ostrea edulis is currently in decline and outlined in the UK. Biodiversity action plan. Many reasons for its decline have been noted. The Whitstable oyster company website notes that “commercial pollution, disease and bad winters” are responsible for the decline. The UK Biodiversity Action plan website explains that a historical increase in demand due to improvement in rail transportation has lead to over exploitation of the Oyster. Further evidence of the popularization of the Oyster can be found in Lewis Carroll’s book "Through the looking Glass" which, written in 1871, contains an entire poem dedicated to the consumption of oysters.

The use of Ostrea edulis has primarily been as a food source. The BBC food website gives notes that Oysters can be eaten raw but also provides links to recipes which include the oyster. The Falmouth Bay Oyster company, who produce both the Native Oyster and Pacific Oyster, provides information as to how to open and store your oysters.

Other uses of Ostrea edulis have been noted historically and in the modern day. One example of this is the use of native oyster shells as a building material. Callendar House in Falkirk, which was built in the 14th Century, has lime mortar made from oyster shells dug out from neolithic shell middens.

A more recent example of Oyster shells being used as a building material is the Pavilion in St. Albans, designed by muf architecture art. The building was created to house a roman mosaic found beneath the park in St. Albans and uses oyster shell aggregate, originally a Roman martial, on the outside of the building. The Oyster shells (around 60, 000 of them) were sourced from County Waterford in Ireland, where both the Native Oyster and the Pacific Oyster are grown; therefore we can not distinguish which species was used.

Fig. 2 St. Albans Pavillion. (muf website)


Useful websites for the Native Oyster.

MarLIN website gives a comprehensive overview of the Native Oyster.

Fisheries and Aquaculture website gives general information on Native oyster as well as the commercial production of the oyster.


UK Biodiversity Action Plan website gives information as to the status of oyster and current action plans for the protection of the oyster.