Sustainability in the Surfing World

Excellent work  from Kevin Whilden and  Michael Stewart, founders of  Sustainable Surf, one of the principle partners of the Plymouth Sustainability and Surfing Research Group (PSSRG), as they get their second write up in Forbes (Woody 2012).  The article focuses on  SustainableSurfs  Eco-Board programme which aims to transform surfboards from their existing toxic form based on polyurethane to a less harmful and recyclable product known as expanded polystyrene or EPS. 

This was highlighted at their recent Eco Board launch event in San Fransisco where an eco board was glassed in the middle of the party.  Technology has advanced to a stage now where eco boards can match their more toxic cousins in performance and aesthetics which is pivotal in getting them in the hands of the average surfer.  During the course of my own research and having spoken to retailers, initial findings suggest that the time is right and eco boards can compete in practically all areas with traditional boards.  One retailer indicated that given a choice the consumer would opt for the Eco Board even if it was marginally more expensive.

However,  the  Forbes article goes on to highlight the fact that  making an environmentally  friendly surf board is only part of the story for promoting a consumer demand for this product. This supports a great deal of research on the way that consumers respond to ‘ethical purchasing’ and behavioural change more broadly for positive environmental change.   The issues are complex and multifaceted.  As the Forbes article illustrates it is now important to put these ecoboards in the hands of some of the surfing worlds most iconic surfers, Kelly slater and Rob Machardo for example to lead the way  and create a positive reinforcement of the  message.

The transition to sustainability in the surfing world needs to be addressed on a number of fronts. The Center for Surf Research at San Diego State University are making huge strides in promoting sustainable surf tourism for example.  The PSSRG aims to draw together on  an international basis people that are passionate about surfing and making a positive change from both an academic and a practitioner perspective.  The latest project from the research group in collaboration with the Center for Surf Research's director Dr Jess Ponting is a book  that is able to explore multiple areas and perspectives of the transition to  sustainability in the surfing world from surfings leading minds.

 

 

 

Sustainable Development Dipomacy

The idea of diplomacy and sustainable development has interested me in for quite some time, what happens  at the international level through different processes of globalisation inevitably impact at the local level in so many different  ways.    I have tried to address these to a certain degree in my own work that looks at sustainable development governance from both a global and local perspective (Borne 2010).  From a diplomacy perspective the closest I’ve got to this is exploring how sustainable development is understood within the United Nations.

 

But,  there remains relatively little consistent and rigorous work that is capable of adequately exploring  what sustainable development means in this context.  So it is really interesting to read Mihaela Papa and Nancy Gleason’s contribution to the journal Global Environmental Change.   I have previously argued that scholars steer clear of this sort of research because of the definitional ambiguity of sustainable development which makes operationalising research in this area  challenging to say the least.  But the authors do a very good job defining their terms and creating an effective narrative. Beyond definitions, the other problem is that once you have managed to define your terms how to you go about collecting data, what sources do you use that are informative and rigorous?  I used a combination of sources under the banner of ethnographic research.  This included relevant text, speeches, policy documents, anything I could get my hands on during my secondment to the United Nations Environment Programme.  Combined with this,  interviews with UN officers, negotiators and observations of debates and resolutions as they were happening.  Papa and Gleason have used  communication documents between the coalition partners, joint statements of  the BRIC and BASIC countries.

 

 

 

 

The authors work focuses on the role of emerging power on the international stage.  Particularly, Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) and Brazil South Africa, Russia and China (Basic). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The authors start off by asking the questions:

Can these countries emerge as a new coalition or negotiation bloc in this field traditionally organised around the North –South Divide.

And if so do they have the potential to exercise leadership and address the stalled performance of the sustainable development agenda?

This is the first time that I have heard the term sustainable development diplomacy used in this context.  A more common term for some of the areas described in the article is sustainable development governance which does admittedly encompass a broader literature and field of study.   However there is still a hairs breadth between the two. Here SDD is described as;

‘a process of global policy making with the aim ‘to produce a guiding framework for a range of policy instruments, financing mechanisms, organisation’s, rules, procedures negotiations and norms that regulate the process of sustainable development’ (2)

 Take a look at the similarity in the definition with sustainable development governance .

‘The sum of the many ways that individuals and institutions, public and private manage their common affairs, a continuing process through which conflicting and diverse interests may be accommodated and cooperative action be taken’ (Shridath and Carlsson 1998)

The authors go on to highlight the idea of SDD through the  established conferences and conventions which I’m not going to elaborate on here  and also discuss the potential for Rio+20. The essence of the paper though is to examine the role, strengths and capacity of the aforementioned coalitions.  They frame the discussion from a theoretical perspective by exploring the idea of policy based leadership and then underneath that, structural and instrumental leadership. 

Policy based leadership is seen as the ability to frame problems, promote particular policy solutions and then implement them. Structural leadership relates to the issue of power embedded within an actor/state on the political stage. And  instrumental leadership is the more subtle realm of negotiation and political engineering.  Of course in reality and taking a somewhat constructivist stance policy, structural and instrumental leadership as defined here are very difficult to actually separate. Regarding the implementation of sustainable development the authors argues that the  BRICS countries lack coherent visions of sustainable development even in general terms and this is a barrier to taking the agenda forward.  More broadly, this is symptomatic of the term sustainable development as a whole with definitional ambiguity being up there as one of its most significant problems, and this is evident at all levels and in all sectors.  With that said the authors identify two important trends within the BRICS nations that form a collective identify and ownership of the concept.

1. Linking environment and development with issues relating to energy and particularly development of nuclear energy. 
2. Cooperation on climate issues and the proliferation of renewable energy sources. 

The authors then go on explore the relationship between the BASIC and BRICS countries explaining that the BASIC coalition has a narrower mandate that BRICS focusing specifically on climate change instead of broader issues of sustainable development.  It is argued that  while the BRICS’ policy agenda has not moved away much from rhetorical support for sustainable development, BASIC has been consistently pursuing the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.  This recognition is a consistent them throughout North / South analysis as the South looks to draw out, at its most reductionist level, the inequitable exploitation of resources by the north and subsequent resultant negative externalities, however they manifest, that impact on a global and local scale. The paper acknowledged that these emerging countries ability to impact the politics of global environmental change is curtailed by the inevitable domestic and internal pressures that exist within state boundaries growing inequalities in income and wealth and consolidating complex domestic agendas may constrain these countries’ joint external influence in responding to global environmental change.

In sum the paper is a very important addition to the literature on sustainable development governance and should encourage more research into the  discourses of sustainable development.

 

References

Borne, G., (2010) A Framework for Sustainable Global Development and Effective Governance of Risk, New York, Edwin Mellen Press

Papa, M., Gleason, N., (2012)  Major Emerging Powers in Sutainable Development Diplomacy Assessing their Leadership Potential,     Global Environmental Change 22:915-924

Town and Parish Councils: Enhancing Local Governance

I continue to work through the vast amount of data that I have for my town and parish council research.  I have been working with the Department of Communities and Local Government to help inform components of their localism agenda.  The following is a version of a policy brief designed to do just that and drawing on the parishs research as well as previous work exploring the effectiveness of Local Strategic Partnerships.

 

 

 

Town and Parish Councils: Enhancing Local Governance

 

SECTION 1: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Parish councils are an effective and established vehicle for service delivery. Increased devolution of services to this level of government should be measured and accountable.  This policy brief draws on insights from over 6000 town and parish councillors and is  the most compressive research study on parish councils that focuses on achieving  sustainable development with an emphasis on sustainable communities (Borne, 2009, 2010a, 2010b, 2012, 2013). The Localism Act and the Open Public Services White paper must be seen as the broader agenda of creating sustainable communities. The brief responds to three principal questions:

 What shapes local decisions to establish parish councils and contribute to neighbourhood level governance?

Increasing the capacity of town and parish councils to deliver services?

How do experiences with town and parish councils inform Neighbourhood Community Budgets?

 

Responses to these questions will be directly explored as well as addressing a number of related questions.  As already identified there are also a number of common themes pertinent to all questions:

 

1. Skills and Education were seen as essential for the further enhancement of local level government.  Whilst the level of up skilling within town and parish councils differed it was recognised that there was a need to increase these skills at least with the clerk of the councils.
2. With increased responsibility for service delivery there is also a need to devolve in real terms the appropriate powers that enable the effective and efficient delivery of services
3. An effective and transparent consultation process is a repeated theme with parish councillors often lamenting the lack of genuine consultation that has little impact on gauging response from parish and community.
4. Communication takes many forms but is seen as pivotal for the effective delivery of services and the establishment and enhancement of local government structures.  This communication is seen as cyclical and not uni- directional.
5. The town and parish council’s relationship with their principal authority is consistently seen as pivotal to any local governance structure.

 

SECTION 2: CURRENT POLICY CONTEXT

The current policy environment can be aid to be underpinned with the following drivers

1. Localisation – where decisions about service design, commissioning and delivery

are taken closer to and based on engagement with service users;

2. Personalisation – further encouragement for bespoke and locally-specific service

delivery approaches;

3. Collaboration – a loosening of organisational boundaries, with scope for more

integrated service delivery, often with a focus on place;

4. Open access – greater opportunities for new service providers to enter the market

from outside the statutory sector;

5. Volunteering – a desire to involve local people and organisations in service planning and delivery

6. Growth – an emphasis upon development which better meets economic and

housing needs.

 

Policy Synergies
Strong synergies exist between Local Government Act and Sustainable Communities Act (2007). Existing initiatives should converge to increase the effectiveness of policy decisions.  For  example,  the outcomes of  the barrier busting consultation relating to sustainable Communities.  Whilst parish councils are capable of submitting these independently of their local authorities it is suggested that parish councils are encouraged to do so in an effective and coordinated manner.  Output from this would create a significant resource for the creation of sustainable communities utilising town and parish councils.

 

SECTION 3: TOWN AND PARISH COUNCIL CONTEXT
There are over 10000 parishes in England, of which approximately 8500 have councils, with approximately 70000 parish councillors. Over 15 million people live in communities served by town and parish councils nationally, that’s 35% of the population. Town and parish councils have been described as the nation’s single most influential grouping of grassroots opinion-formers (NALC 2012).  They are representative of, and part of the local community; they are able to provide services to meet local needs as well as having the ability to improve the quality and well being of their local community. The Localism Act (DCLG 2011) as well as the Open Public Services White Paper (HM Gov 2012) is putting an increasing emphasis on town and parish councils to represent their communities and effectively deliver services. A number of policy drivers for local level delivery have been identified and can be summarised as follows:

Parish councils are a highly effective local governance structure and offer an established vehicle to realise localism addressing all of the above drivers.  Whilst predominantly a rural structure as a result of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act (DCLG 2007) there is potential for increased urban parish governance. Evidence of this can be seen in the establishment of London’s Queens Park Parish Council which will be the first parish council in London for 50 years when established in 2014.

Considering the incredible potential for town and parish councils to realise the localism agenda very little work has been conducted at this level of local government that moves beyond general commentary (Peterson 2012). Some work is of relevance however.  Bishop (2010) explored the nature of parish councils in the localism agenda with reference to community led plans.  The importance of multi-scalar governance as a model for exploring the neighbourhood level has also received some attention (Sommerville 2012).   Other studies have explored the role of democratisation at the parish level (Coulson 1997) and more recently DEFRA (2012) has explored a number of areas relating to the devolution of public services under the banner of ‘rural proofing’. There is an urgent need to ensure that the process of devolution to this layer of government is fully informed or there is a risk of marginalisation and missed opportunity. The following will address the principle questions of this brief.

 

SECTION 4: RESULTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

 What shapes local decisions to establish parish councils and contribute to neighbourhood level governance?

 There are multiple and complex reasons for the establishment of local and community level governance.  However, motivations may broadly be categorised as, identity, efficiency, relevance and opportunity.

 Identity –In an increasingly globalised and fragmented world evidence points to a  need for community identify of an area which provides impetus for the responsible, effective and efficient use of resources within that locale.

Efficiency – An increased perception of efficiency within the delivery of services dissatisfactions with the level of advice support and overall service provision. There is a general perceived level of overall of providing services to the local community by using town and parish councils ultimately creating sustainable communities.

Relevance – Local level governance is seen as being relevant to the local community.  Local governance structures are seen as capable of prioritising the right issues for the local communities.

Opportunity – The opportunity to draw on multiple resources and be engaged with the mechanisms for improving local communities.

 

Barriers

Foundational barriers include a parish’s history and heritage, the composition of its population and the engagement or place attachment of that space.  However, the following issues may be considered thematic for the creation of community level governance:

 

Scattered and isolated communities within rural communities were seen as a barrier to effective local level governance.

 There was a lack of understanding as to how new parishes may be set up and this falls within the broader remit of communication and support from the principal authorities. 

 Time was also a factor as the parish council level of government represents a volunteer’s commitment that means time away from other activities.

 

Administrative confusion was an issue that arose repeatedly within the data with communities unclear as to the logistics of establishing local was the idea of administration and the ability to deliver the services. This refers to both communication and skills education and training

 

Recommendations  There is an urgent need to open up the communication lines between the parish council and the principal authority.  Provide the relevant and focused information.  Be aware of the differences at different levels but also be balanced in your approach and facilitate effective governance structures.  Be sensitive to the differing backgrounds heritages and relationships that exist at the parish level

  Increasing the role of town and parish councils

 

There is evidence that the ambition and capacity to increase service delivery is increased in a particular areas where a number of factors converge.  This includes a strong community identity, Leadership within the parish with an emphasis on the important role of clerk and a strong relationship with statutory service providers

 

Ambition and Capacity. -There is a willingness to increase service delivery and take responsibility for a broader portfolio of service provision within parish councils.  There is however a number of issues relating to this that act as provisos to this statement. The increased level of control brings about an increased level of responsibility.  Whilst there is an appetite for the devolution of services there is also a concern that this is not backed up with the relevant support from both local and national government. Individual parish’s capacity and ambition seems on a general basis to be aligned. Parishes that are ambitions and forward thinking in their approach to service delivery and creating a stronger community identity are capable of identifying their weaknesses and this particularly applies to skill and training.  Skills and training are seen as essential and directly related to capacity for increased service provision

 

Barriers  
Lack of understanding - as to what an increased level of service delivery would actually involve.  Concern over budgetary commitment, review, and accountability for increasing a service portfolio were identified as barriers. There was also concern over what impact this will have on the formal or otherwise structure of the interaction within parish councils.  Concern is raised that this additional time and intensity of activity will actually deter people from wanting to become parish councillors in the first instance having a counterproductive impact on the localism agenda.  As a predominantly voluntary group this is of particular concern in the smaller parishes which rely exclusively on the good will of those elected. Concerns have been raised that this increase could actually mean that the smaller parishes will lose the support of local community members effectively reducing the capacity of the council. 

 

Relationship with Principal Authority

 

‘You need to be aware of who the service provider is and of course most of the services provided is the local authority so you have to get on board with them (parish councillor)

 

The relationship between the principal authority and parish council is essential for the effective delivery and devolution of services.  Whilst this relationship was identified as absolutely essential, it was often noted that the principal authority was not always as supportive as it could be in facilitating service delivery. The following issues are seen are central and transferable.

Effective consultation- A process that considers views of parish councils that move beyond the symbolic. 

Communication and education that effectively supports parish’s and considers entrenched local issues that will impact specifically on the parish area.  These issues were particularly highlighted within Cornwall as the county moved to Unitary Authority status.  Currently Cornwall Council offers guidance and support to parish councils for the devolution process.  It has outlined a number of case studies that it segregates into coastal parish, coastal town and rural parish.   Such initiatives are essential for the effective take up of services by parish councils.  This process however, must be inclusive, extensive, transparent and accountable.

Recommendations Cornwall Council has been proactive with their approach to devolution particularly with the establishment of the Devolution Management Group.  This strategic innovation needs to be effectively executed in order to support the complex evolution agenda within Cornwall.  This also applies on a generic basis to the relationship between principal authorities and parish councils

  Parish councils and Neighbourhood Community Budgets

Observations at the parish council level of government offer rich insights into the ongoing development of NCB’s.  Parish councils present some parallels when considering service delivery and the establishment of community/ neighbourhood levels of government.  There is a need to set realistic priorities and visions that effectively frame the neighbourhood budgets. Again this returns to earlier observations concerning communication. This will require a rigorous consultative process with the local community.  There is a possible tension when it comes to the accountability of budgets  the statutory partners restricting or blocking  how the ‘community’ wants to allocate the resource. Experience and analysis of Local Strategic Partnership’s arrangements also suggests that within statutory bodies,  ‘partnership equity’ should be maintained and monitored.

 

Engaging with the parish council  and using this as an inroad to community engagement provides an opportunity to utilise established, ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ community networks, both of which are present in parish councils.  This should be seen as only a first step in engaging with a fuller community base.  Using the parish council does not presuppose a representation of community, instead offers the opportunity of a significantly informed body close to the community.  

 

The most important element to encouraging those communities that have the capacity and inclination to develop this agenda is to clearly communicate the value of this agenda to their local communities whilst maintaining a strong emphasis on the role of the statutory budget providers.  This effective communication and framing will not only strengthen the capacity and appetite of those areas already looking to engage with the process it will also alert those areas that are yet to engage or feel they do not have the capacity to the opportunities that are incumbent with the initiative.

 

References

Atkinson, H. (2008) Democracy and Empowerment in London’s Neighbourhoods, 23(4):325-331

Bishop, J. (2010) From Parish Plans to Localism in England: Straight Track or Long Winding Road? Planning Practice and Research, 25(5):611-624

Borne, G. (2012) Power to the Parish, Public Services Review: Local Government and the Regions 20 http://goo.gl/hmkFf

Borne, G. (forthcoming) (2013) Governance in Transition: Sustainable Development at the Local Level in a Global Context, Edwin Mellen Press

Borne, G. (2010a) A Framework for Sustainable Global Development and Effective Governance of Risk, New York, Edwin Mellen Press

Borne, G. (2010b) Promoting Sustainable Communities in Devon and Cornwall, Promoting Sustainable Communities 2(1) http://goo.gl/M8oJ7

Borne, G. (2009) Understanding Town and Parish Council Needs for a Sustainable Cornwall, Promoting Sustainable Communities 1(2) http://goo.gl/l3UER

Coulson, A. (1999) Decentralisation and Democracy: The Neglected Potential of Parish Councils, New Economy 6(2):115-118

DEFRA (2012a) Local Level Rural Proofing  http://goo.gl/dAPqw

DEFRA (2012b) Local Level Rural Proofing Resource 2: Rural Proofing in Practice http://goo.gl/Vdcze

DCLG (2012),  Proposal from Town and Parish Councils Under the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 http://goo.gl/Adbsh

DCLG (2011) Localism Act http://goo.gl/r6hVt

DCLG (2007) Public Involvement in Health Act    http://goo.gl/X214C

Fenwick, J., McMillan, J., Elcock, H. (2009) Local Government and the Problem of English Governance , Local Government Studies, 35(1):5-20

HM Government (2012) Open Public Services White Paper http://goo.gl/GTpZn

Lehal, J. (2012) A Year on Its Time for a Charm Offensive on Open Public Services  http://goo.gl/LHjnc

McIntyre, T.,  and Halsall, J. (2011) Community Governance and local decision making. Paper Presented to the ‘Diversity and Convergence: Planning in a World of Change’ Conference, Local Economy, 26(4):269-286  

National Association of Local Councils http://goo.gl/9OX8V

Pearce, G., and Ellwood, S. (2002) Modernising Local government:  The Role for Parish and Town Councils Local Government Studies 28(2):33-54

Peterson, H. (2012) When is a Public Servant not a Public Servant http://goo.gl/mMqFq

Somerville, P. (2011), Multi-Scalarity and Neighbourhood Governance, Public Policy and Administration 26(1):81-105

UN General Assembly Opens New Session

The United Nations General Assembly today opened its 67th session with an urgent call for cooperation to tackle the economic and political uncertainty which is being experienced in many parts of the world and ensure there are peaceful solutions to international disputes.

“Peace and security is a prerequisite for the stability needed for global economic growth, sustainable development and social progress,” said the President of the 193-member body, Vuk Jeremic.

Mr. Jeremic outlined the main areas of focus for this year’s session, with the overarching theme being the peaceful settlement of international disputes. “I hope this framework will usefully serve the noble cause of preventing gathering conflicts and resolving existing ones.”

 

Peace and security are essential to advance development, Mr. Jeremic said, stressing that the Assembly should focus not just on achieving the eight anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but also on the post-2015 agenda. In particular, he underscored the importance of fulfilling the commitments made during the UN Sustainable Development Conference (Rio+20), which was held in Brazil in June.

 

“Our objective should be the full implementation of the mandate this body received at the Rio+20 Conference. This will require a decisive commitment to observe not only procedural deadlines but also the political and financial objectives it has been designed to accomplish.”

 

Mr. Jeremic also highlighted the importance of making progress on arms control and disarmament, strengthening UN peacekeeping, improving a global coordinated response to terrorism, and promoting human rights in the international arena during the next 12 months.

In addition, he emphasized that the rule of law would remain one of the main priorities on the Assembly’s agenda. “Close to 800 years after the Magna Carta was promulgated, many people around the world still do not enjoy the fundamental rights enshrined in that seminal document – rights that protect individuals, while enabling countries to develop in peace and security, as sovereign equals,” he said. “I urge the Member States to agree on a consensus document by the start of the High-Level Debate on the Rule of Law in a few days’ time.”

 

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated Mr. Jeremic on his new role and thanked the former President of the Assembly, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, for his leadership over the past year.

He also underlined that the role of the UN is crucial during this period of uncertainty, and called on Member States to deepen their efforts to work together.

 

“We are living through a period of unease. We are also seeing incidents of intolerance and hatred that are then exploited by others. Voices of moderation and calm need to make themselves heard at this time. We all need to speak up in favour of mutual respect and understanding of the values and beliefs of others,” Mr. Ban said. “The United Nations must rise to the moment.”

 

Source: www.un.org

Sustainable Devleopment Solutions Network

An exciting development following Rio+20 is the launch of an independent global network of research centres, universities and technical institutions to help find solutions for some of the world's most pressing environmental, social and economic problems.

The Sustainable Development Solutions Network will work with business, civil society, UN agencies and other international organisations to identify and share the best pathways to achieve sustainable development. The Network will be directed by Prof. Jeffrey Sachs Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and Special Advisor to Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon. Sachs has also been pivotal in advising on the sustainable development goals that will replace the Millennium Development goals which expire in 2015

The network will strongly encourage international cooperation of multiple issues. Encouragingly, Sachs indicates that the network will promote an integrated systems approaches to addresses the complex economic, social and environmental challenges confronting governments. The SDSN states as its goals expected to provide an independent global, open and inclusive process to support and scale up problem-solving at local, national and global levels. I am keen to learn more about the network and the network website is due for launch on September 1st so watch that space

http://www.unsdsn.org/

 

Sustainable Development and Surfing

Heres the link to the revised piece now published at The Inertia

http://www.theinertia.com/environment/sustainable-development-and-surfing/

Sustainability Science

A quick observation on sustainability science.  What is it? Well in parallel to discussions about the  form and function of a sustainable development  academic debates  have centred around sustainable development as a catalyst for a new way of understanding the world. This is borne from the realisation that the problems faced by the world today are themselves complex, uncertain, and non-linear and do not fit neatly into the division of academic disciplines within educational institutional frameworks we have today. As Sachs points out (2008) the problems simply refuse to arrive in the neat little packages of academic departments. Climate change is an exemplar of this point described as a wicked problem (Hulme 2009).  In particular, sustainable development has been described as an orchestration of the science with the rapid progress of perspectives that centre around   interdisciplinary and   trans disciplinarily as well as coalescing ideas around complexity and systems thinking. 

So from an evolution of sustainable development as a concept from an environmental perspective to a three pillars approach (environment, society and economy) what has now emerged is a new perspective on science (Bettencourt and Kaur 2011; Kates 2011). So if I use again, and apologies for doing so because it is overused, a venn diagram to illustrate where sustainability science might be positioned.

 

Discuss at length if you were so inclined, about th absense of the economic dimenions and the  lack of power dynamics that exist in this interpretation. Nevertheless, it is a usefull visualisation.  But if its definitions you are looking for as I often am then you could do a lot worse than Kates interpretation.

According to Kates Sustainabiliy Science is described as ‘an emerging field of research dealing with the interaftions between natural and social systems and with how those interactions affect the challenge of sustainability’ (Kates 2011:19449).

References

Bettencourt, L., and Kaur J., (2011) Evolution and Sructure of Sustainability Science PNAS 108:49:19540-19545

Hulme, M., (2009) Why we Disagree about climate Change, Understanding Controversy, Inaction and Opportunities, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press

Kates, R., (2011) What kind of science is sustainability science? PNAS 108(49):19449-19450

Sachs, (2008) Common Wealth, Economics for a Crowded Planet, New York, Penguin Press

Sustainable Development and Surfing

Over the past 15 years I have been researching what sustainable development and sustainability mean and how these terms are translated into real world programmes, initiatives and policies.   I have done this at the United Nations, at the national government level, local government, I’ve looked at the sustainability of 2012 Olympics in London this year as well as exploring community and individual responses to risks such as climate change.    As a surfer of over 20 years, mostly in the cold and fickle waves of the South West of England, it was only a matter of time before I started exploring sustainable development in the surfing world. What follows are some thoughts on sustainable development, surfing and an emerging area of research.

I start in recent history with the  United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development or  Rio +20 as it is popularly known that took place last week between the 20^th and 22 nd June. The very predictable debates over its success or otherwise will now stretch out over the coming weeks.  The outcome document, ‘The Future we Want’ has been described by Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations as a firm foundation for social, economic and environmental well being.  On the other hand groups like Oxfam and Greenpeace have expressed some serious concerns about the real world impacts of the conference.  I am not going to expand on this here but whatever your stance on the conference and the outcomes it has undoubtedly highlighted and reinforced the unsustainable nature of humanities current developmental pathways as an exponentially rising global population  relies on an ever diminishing and unevenly distributed resource base. 

The conference has also highlights how difficult the term sustainable development is to define and  and it remains a contested and ambiguous concept. It has been described as an oxymoron, that no development by its very nature can be sustainable, some say that it means all thing to all people and so, ultimately means nothing.  Perhaps, the most serious accusation is that it is a term that does nothing more than legitimise existing modes or production and consumption, and as we all know, they don’t really work. 

With that in mind I am a proponent of sustainable development, I believe it is the most

important term of the 21^st Century and provides a focal point around which different cultures, different, religions, different sectors can come together and discuss the multiple and complex impacts humanity is having on our planet.  Its basic definition from the Bruntland Commission’s 1987 report ‘Our Common Future’ (WCED 1987) says it is ‘development that meets the needs of current populations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. This definition was again enforced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the Rio Earth Summit in 1992.  It was at this summit that Agenda 21 (UN 1992) was borne, considered by many to be the blue print for a sustainable development.

In the 20 years between the first Rio summit in 1992 and its most recent incarnation, the meaning and context of the concept has altered significantly.  Initially, focused on the environment, now the term is broader with the three pillars, or the triple bottom line of environment, society and the economy constituting its definition. Recent work, including my own now emphasises the complexity and systems approach to sustainable development exploring governance and the role of multiple stakeholders.

With this woefully inadequate potted history, definition and emerging perspectives on sustainable development established it is at this point that I bring sustainable development and surfing together. I am not going to outline impacts relating to surfing, I’ll only point out that with an estimated 10 million surfers in 120 countries and an industry worth in excess of six billion dollars surfing as a unique activity is a significant player on the international stage in many different areas.  These range from the impacts on local communities through the rapid rise of surf tourism to the impact of the production and consumption of surfing related products, shorts, wetsuits boards etc.  As with other sector of society the language of   sustainability is being used to grapple with the multiple issues that relate to surfing.

Of course, what the term means within the surfing world will inevitably alter and change depending on what area is being looked at, and so it should, it is not a constant it is evolving and it is complex and it will mean different things to different people with different values and priorities. So with that said I do not offer up a definition of what sustainability should be. I do not suggest that there should be at some distant point in the future an ideal situation or utopian vision. Instead I urge an interrogation of the term and what it’s being applied to.  This interrogation starts with a very simple question. How is sustainability being used and in what context? It means looking very carefully at ‘sustainability claims’. It means understanding for example what is meant by sustainable surf tourism, understanding the impacts and processes, asking the right questions and challenging the established status quo. It’s about accommodating diversity, conflict and different visions. What it absolutely should not mean and referring back to the most serious criticisms of sustainable development, it should not be about business as usual.

I have only begun to explore these questions and I start modestly.  But I cautiously see some genuine and exciting changes within the surfing world.  There are a number of internal and external variables I could point to  support this claim, but for now I  will only outline three key areas. Firstly, the mediums for the serious exchange of ideas, thought and commentary within the surfing world have significantly evolved or maybe grown up. The Inertia is an example of this with Forbes describing it as the Huffington Post for surfers. The creation of the website The Greener Blue with a specific focus on surfing and sustainability is another  example of this.  Secondly, a very visible change is the increasing effectiveness of non profit organisations that specifically focus on sustainability.  In particular,  Sustainable Surf and  its programmes related to market transformation within the surfing industry is an example of the need for changing towards a more sustainable model of doing business.  Their Waste to Waves programme has been successful not only from a recycling perspective but also in moving the debates around recycling and pollution in surfing into the mainstream media, with as an example an article in Forbes.  The greening of the San Francisco Ripcurl Pro and the subsequent partnership with the Association of  Surfing Professional leading to the sustainability initiatives at the Volcom Fiji pro through the Deep Blue Surfing initiative are yet more examples.  

Thirdly, the establishment of the world’s first ever Center for Surf Research at San Diego State University.  This has provided a focal point for industry, non for profit organisations,  and academia to come together and discuss the specific and unique dynamics of the surfing world.  The conference in January of this year organised by the Center and the Groundswell Society,  ‘Surfings New Aloha: The Growing Trend of Giving Back’ drew on a range of people all relating to the surfing world all trying to make a difference and understand the future of what I see as different aspects of sustainability and surfing.

As with the Rio conference this represents a process that begins to articulate the problem in a comprehensive fashion that in turn facilitates discussions of the solutions.   Over the coming months I will be working with both Sustainable Surf and The Center for Surf Research to continue these discussions and conduct research that aims to understand sustainability within the surfing world.   This has begun with the UK’s  first research group focused specifically on sustainability and surfing at Plymouth University, The Plymouth Sustainability and Surfing research group. 

I consider this article to be part of the process of understanding what sustainability is in surfing and what triggers are needed to build momentum on this initial transition.  I would like to ask as many people as possible reading this to comment on what they believe this should look like and what should happen next. 

* A Revised version of this article  appears in the  www.theinertia.com  http://www.theinertia.com/environment/sustainable-development-and-surfing/