Download Workshop on the Ecosystem Approach to the Management and

Workshop on the Ecosystem Approach to the Management and Protection
of the North Sea
Oslo, Norway 15-17 June 1998
What can be gained from an ecosystem approach to environmental
protection?
Sarah Jones, World Wide Fund for Nature (UK)
(presented by Henning Røed)
INTRODUCTION
This presentation identifies how the marine environment is inadequately protected by the
management approaches that are currently applied and offers a preliminary outline of a
solution which WWFs North East Atlantic Program is currently developing, with specific
application of the ecosystem approach to the North Sea. The presentation is illustrated by a
cross sectional diagram of the North Sea and its European catchment area and illustrates
intense fishing, spawning and juvenile areas of eleven commercial species and the gear with
which they are fished, the location of mineral extraction operations, a selection regularly
located species and habitats in the North Sea and the range of key ecosystem parameters such
as temperature and nutrients. The diagram is divided into seven sections. A fisheries
perspective is offered with full belief that if the ecosystem approach was afforded to the
management of the marine environment, it would not only work towards protecting the
environment but also enhance its fisheries.
MAIN TEXT
WWFs North East Atlantic program has embarked on the process of developing a practical
solution to ecosystem management in the North Sea (in its preliminary stages) due to grave
concerns that the “ecosystem approach” is seen theoretical. It has little direction for a realistic
and practical application, has no concrete objective which is practical, realistic and of upmost
worth to afford environmental protection and is being developed with far too much emphasis
on complex models. WWF do not believe, certainly with current level of understanding,
human beings can fully understand, predict and therefore manage the complex interactions
within natural ecosystems. This does not mean that current knowledge should not be utilised
to its upmost, but while ecosystem management is likely to involve comprehensive
monitoring of key ecosystem indicators, areas are required which are closed to selected
activities (control areas) and are allowed to self regulate to the greatest extent possible. An
overall summary is that the ecosystem approach should be one of regulation by natural
processes to the greatest extent possible whilst recognising and incorporating key and
essential requirements of human infrastructure.
In identifying the need for specific control areas (here defined as zones from which activities
are selectively excluded) it must be recognised that there are specific components which have
either to be managed from source and/or move throughout the marine environment. Control
sites may not be appropriate to monitor the direct effect of these components but will certainly
provide an indication of the effects of these components on habitats and species within the
sites. To avoid confusion with other site designations, the control areas may be zones within a
marine protected area. If all extraction activities are excluded the zone would be called a notake zone.
Components (habitats, species, effects of activities, ecosystem parameters) may be
conveniently banded into:
A. Those which can be directly protected/protected from, partially protected/protected from or
excluded.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Bottom habitats
Concentrated behaviour of all or part of the life cycles of marine species
Aggregate dredging
Bottom trawling
Oil and Gas platforms
Shipping
Recreation
B. Those which cannot be directly protected/protected from, partially protected/protected
from or excluded.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Highly migratory life cycle stages of marine species (particularly pelagic fish,
cetaceans, turtles, sharks etc. and phytoplankton and zooplankton).
Nutrients and toxic chemicals from land, atmosphere and marine environment.
Toxic substances from e.g oil exploration and shipping.
Physical and chemical parameters such as temperature, salinity, ocean currents, pH.
Introduced species.
All these components can, however, be monitored from specific stations inside and outside
control areas working towards management and to the greatest extent possible natural
regulation where appropriate the “full picture”. Excluding selected activities in A, from a
proportion of the North Sea Area will allow their impacts to be assessed and will also
facilitate greater understanding.
TIME PERMITTING ON A SECTION BY SECTION BASIS
From the diagram the potential effects of activities and natural phenomena can be considered
on a section by section basis.
Section one - Spawning grounds for sole and plaice, fishing grounds for cod, sole and plaice,
heavy dissolved contamination from river input, well stratified, potential aggregate dredging,
high nitrate and highest north sea temperature range.
Section two - Intensive gas exploration, cod and mackerel spawning, plaice and cod juvenile
grounds, sole, plaice and cod fishing grounds.
Section three - Dogger bank - rich benthic communities at the boundary of those
representative of the southern north sea and the northern north sea, year round plankton
production, frontal area, mackerel, sprat and cod spawning, plaice, sprat, cod, haddock
fishing, gas pipelines, drilling holes, west to east current.
Finish description and summarize how the sections are not currently protected and could be
with the ecosystem approach.
This section by section approach is built into a “full picture” by considering the effects of one
section on the rest in order to address synergy thought the whole of the North Sea Large
Marine Ecosystem.
CONCLUSION
*
The ecosystem approach WWF is advocating has the objective of regulation by natural
processes to the greatest extent possible while recognising, considering and incorporating
where appropriate key and essential requirements of human infrastructure.
*
While WWF recognise the complexities of ecosystem process these do not have to be
fully understood and modelled to apply an ecosystem approach to marine management and
afford increased environmental protection.
*
This presentation gives an insight into what WWF suggest could be achieved by
applying simple principles of the ecosystem approach to integrated marine management
(excluding activities from a proportion of the North Sea Area combined with fully monitoring
the outside influences on these areas from within the areas and from external monitoring
stations and reducing/eliminating these effects from source).
*
By applying these principles greater environmental protection can be afforded to
benthic communities, their associated habitats and processes, juvenile and spawning grounds
of commercial species, effects from toxic pollutants.
*
By applying these principles a vision for the future would be to undertake the same
monitoring, risk assessment, research, management and control and development of no-take
zones for all activities instead of having the ridiculous situation where separate data is
financed, collected and interpreted largely for separate activities and access to this data often
severely restricted.