Blue growth vs healthy seas
Guy Rogers reviews a book by veteran tourism professional Peter Myles
MARTIME CLUSTERS AND THE OCEAN ECONOMY by Peter Myles, published by Routledge for £76 (R1 246)
IF BLUE growth as advocated by Operation Phakisa is going to succeed, then we have to protect our rich marine biodiversity. Otherwise, ocean development is not going to be sustainable and, while there may be short-term profit boosts in some sectors, we will destroy existing enterprises and future opportunities founded on a healthy ocean.
In Algoa Bay, there is already an array of sharply different enterprises and activities jostling for space and many more waiting in the wings.
Yet, there is no integrated, overarching plan to help us to decide where, how and if these different enterprises and activities should be slotted in.
Think manganese stockpiling and export, off-shore bunkering, seismic surveys and undersea drilling, shipping, the Coega industrial development zone, logistics, desalination, and the sea as a dispersal zone for municipal stormwater and treated water.
Consider mariculture, and recreational and commercial fishing. What about beach activities, Ironman, eco-education and marine research, scuba diving, yachting, tourism?
What about the security of our ocean ecosystems and vulnerable wild species which make their home here, not least the endangered African penguin?
In a delightful preface to his book, Myles recounts how his fascination with water began when he was a child growing up in Ndola in land-locked Northern Rhodesia, swimming in the local municipal pool and sharing the Zambezi River with crocodiles and hippos.
The author guides us through his argument that collaborative “cluster development” is the best tool for responsible ocean governance. He examines the Swedish approach and highlights European Union policy which recognises that “protecting marine ecosystems is a condition and factor for growth”.
He looks at England’s Jurassic Coast linking Dorset and East Devon which has built a thriving industry around its unique archaeological sites, and considers the protocols governing exotic marine sites globally from the Sargasso Sea to Hanauma Bay Nature Reserve in Hawaii.
On maritime clusters, he moves from Poland to the Mediterranean, France, Denmark, New Zealand and the Baltic.
Myles focuses on South Africa’s 24 marine protected areas and argues that their significance in protecting the health of fish stocks has not been fully appreciated.
He spotlights mariculture and the proposed fish farm off the Port Elizabeth beachfront and says the project emphasises the need for a cost-benefit analysis and risk assessment, and that bidders must be required to prepare business plans indicating the viability of their proposal.
One of the most interesting chapters is about renewable energy from ocean tides and waves, and the partnership underpinning the Poole Harbour project on England’s south coast.
On marine plastic pollution he quotes a 2015 study that showed that oceans globally were filled with about eight million tons of plastic waste, “equal to five grocery bags filled with plastic for every foot of coastline in the world”.
His final chapter on clusters and stewardship notes that an estimated 80% of the 330km³ of municipal waste water generated annually is discharged untreated into waterways causing environmental, social and economic problems.
Yet a UN Environmental Programme study showed that “resources embedded in this wastewater would be enough to irrigate and fertilise millions of hectares of crops and produce biogas that could supply energy for millions of households”.
On maritime business incubators, he delves into the “port wastelands” that began to appear 30 years ago and the “return of the port to the city”, a phenomenon of the last few years.
Myles’s book is exhaustively researched (with more than 300 references), crisply written and highly relevant for all coastal towns and cities, not least Nelson Mandela Bay.
It will be of interest to government officials, consultants, academics and anyone wanting to learn more about the ocean economy.
ý Maritime Clusters and the Ocean Economy is part of Routledge’s Earthscan series. It can be ordered online from the publisher or via www.tournetafrica.com