Surfing and natural capital

1. Sustainable Development, Natural
Capital and Surfing in the South
West
Gregory Borne

2. Introduction
Sustainable Development
Research Overview
Conceptual Framework
Natural Capital
South West
Research Case Study

3. Research Overview
Seminal work on Sustainable
Development
Strong relationship between
Theory and Practice
International and Local
Cross sectoral
Direct Impact
Innovative Methodologies
Sustainable Development
Socio- Technical Transitions
Governance
Complex adaptive systems
Globalisation
Natural Capital
Ecosystem Services
United
Nations
Surfing and
Sustainability
Town and
parish
councils

4. Sustainable Development/
Sustainability
Development that
meets the needs of
current generations
without compromising
the ability of future
generations to meet
their own needs
(Brundtland 1987- Our
Common Future)
Sustainable Development provides a
way of accommodating
complexity
• About holistic approach
• About making connections
• About considering environmental,
social and economic dimensions
• About the Global and the Local

5. Complexity / Systems/ Reflexivity /Risk/ socio
technical transitions
Natural Capital
Environmental
economics
Ecological Economics
Reflexive Modernity
Ecological Modernisation
Sustainable Development
Epistemological paradigm
Sustainable
Development
Lens
Environment Society Economy
Trade/ off/values/ Governance /
Implementation

6. Natural Capital
• A Transdisciplinary Approach
• Sustainability Science
• Conceptual Valuation
Framework for UK National
Assessment Strategy
• Intergovernmental Platform on
biodiversity and ecosystem
services
(Source: Costanza et al 2014)
Natural Capital Committee
(Dieter Helm) –Natural Capital
Valuing the Planet
Questions concerning the interplay between ecosystems and people
were found to be more important than instrumental questions
(Rivero and Villasante 2016:112)
There has been an ongoing debate that about what
some see as the commodification of nature that this
approach supposedly implies (Costanza 2014:153)
Constanza and Daly 1992 – Natural Capital is a
mechanism for achieving sustainable
Development

7. Valuing Natural Capital - Benefits to
South West
Social
Health and Well being
Community resilience
Economic
Sustainable economic
growth
Farming and tourism
highest in the UK
Environmental
Respond to risks – natural
hazards – extreme weather
– flooding –pollution
Preservation/ conservation/
sustainable development
900 hectares National park/AONB =25
percent in England
60 per cent of England's heritage coast
24 per cent Site of Special Scientific Interest
22 per cent national Nature reserve
• Integrated systems
approach
• Identify tradoffs
• Highlight Value beyond
traditional market
mechanisms

8. Surfing as a Function of Natural
Capital ?
Activity that has direct engagement with nature and the marine environment
Nexus point of multiple contested and conflicting interests
130 billion US dollar's from a sustainability perspective
Approximately 500,000 surfers in the UK this equates to a contribution to economic activity of between
£1billion and £1.8billion per year spread between the regions and countries of
the UK.
Indirect economic impact of surfing as much in the UK - £4.95bn. (Miller 2013)
Estimated value to South West Economy £250 million
Culturally Iconic
Surfers as sustainability leaders through heightened environmental awareness
A focal point to open up a dialogue

9. Narratives from
over 40 leaders
multinational
corporations
Political/environme
ntal Activists
Government
Officias
Grass Roots NGOs
Step One: Establishing a Research
Agenda Exploring the Cultural Value of Surfing

10. Exploring the Value of Surfing
• Interviews and multi -stakeholder interaction
• Focus Groups
• In-depth ethnographic participant observation
• Stakeholder engagement at the outset – co-
evolution of knowledge

11. Step Two: Establish Coherent
Knowledge Base
Borne G and Ponting, J. Sustainable Surfing
Routledge (2017)
• Conceptualise whole systems – Surf System
Boundaries
• Explore governance networks
• Apply multiple methods and techniques

12. Step 3: Identify Surfing Capital
Surfing Capital
• Wave quality
• Wave frequency
• Environmental matters
• Socio-cultural issues.
Lazarow et al. (2007)
Lazarow and Olive – In Borne and Ponting (2017)

13. Valuing Wave Capital: Case Study
Input –Output Model
Paul Bishop / Stephen
Brand
Impact case study
2014
CEMLEF - The Centre
of Maritime Logistics,
Economics and
Finance.
Case Study 1: Bantham, Devon
(ongoing)
Methods
Revealed Preference
Stated Preference
Survey – Physical at Johnston Estate
Electronic MagicSeaweed
Data of Resource – forecasting data –
frequency – quality
Associated wave height perception
study
Water Quality
Case Study 2 - St Aubyne Estate – (In
Planning)
5000 acres of agricultural land,
residential and commercial property,
woodland and coastline.

14. Impact
• Pressures – infrastructure
• Development and investment opportunities
• Clustering and Multiplying
• Targeted innovation
• Governance management and partnership
• Surf Management Plan
• Potential for Surfing Reserve
• Global marketability

15. Plymouth Sustainability and Surfing
Research Group
Multi Disciplinary
60 affiliated researchers in 12 countries
34 affiliated partners
Multiple Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
Communicating Impact to a wider Audience
Social Media
Twitter: pssrg1
Facebook: pssrg1
Blog: Huffington Post

16. References
Borne, G., and Ponting J. (2015) Sustainable Stoke: Transitions to Sustainability in the Surfing World , Plymouth, University of Plymouth Press
Borne, G., and Ponting, J (2017) Sustainable Surfing, London Routledge
Carol, M. et al A systematic review of coastal and marine cultural ecosystem services: current status and Future Research Marine Policy
(74):25-32
Costanza et. al. (2014) Changes in the Global Value Ecosystem Services, Global Environmental Change 26:152-158
Costanza and daly
Mills, B., (2013) The economic of domestic surfing on the UK economy, Surfers Against Sewage
Potentially overall impact of surfing £4.95 billion in the UK but this is expenditure
Rivero, S and Villasante, S. (2016) What are the Research Priorities for marine ecosystem services Marine Policy 66: 104-113
Paracchini, M et al. (2014) Mapping cultural ecosystem services: A framework to assess the potential for outdoor recreation across the EU
Ecological Indicators( 45) 371-385
Shackleton, R. et al. (2017) Progress made in managing and valuing ecosystem services; a horizon scan of gaps in research, management and
governance Ecosystem Services (XXXX) XXXX-XXXX
Torres, C and Hanley, N. (2017)Communicating research on the economic valuation of coastal and marine ecosystem services Marine Policy
(75):99-107

17. Choosing Valuation Technique
• Service under consideration
• Scale
• Policy context
• Resources available
• Economic valuation methods- structuring evidence
in decision making process.
But no substitute for deliberation and decision
making

18. It is important to make a distinction within this paper between economic
impact and estimated value. Coffman and Burnett (2009) focus on value
whilst Nelsen (2007) looks at economic impact. By adopting a travel cost
method they are able to examine the revealed preference and willingness
to pay for surfing (a ‘use’ value). This is an estimate of the value people
place on surfing. It is assumed that the combination of transport costs,
opportunity cost in travel and opportunity cost in lost time during activity can
be used to estimate the value the individual places on that activity when it
is not possible to directly obtain a market value. (SAS report)