Diverse values refer to the many dimensions of value including economic values, social and cultural values, aesthetic values, and natural values, and how they might be accounted for in decision-making frameworks such as instrumental values, intrinsic values and relational values.
Marine environments and human well-being are inextricably linked through complex socio-ecological systems that span terrestrial, coastal and ocean domains. While this complexity is widely acknowledged in theory, current models of marine resource management practice do not adequately adopt the necessary transdisciplinary approaches to use diverse values or have the means to align them to decision making and policy development.
The transition to transdisciplinarity and diverse values is a challenge faced by marine science and policy communities worldwide and is acknowledged as a global science priority for the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (UNESCO 2019). It is a cross-cutting challenge which affects all marine management priorities. The inclusion of diverse values, particularly of a qualitative nature, into UK marine management processes is crucial, but at present is outside the experience, capability and comfort zone of many institutions and individuals in the marine management research and practitioner community.
Working across three test study sites of Portsmouth, Upper Severn Estuary (Chepstow) and the Shetland Islands, the aims of this research are:
The project legacy will be an increased understanding and implementation of diverse values into marine policy and decision making and identified capacity building opportunities for institutions to facilitate embedding transdisciplinary practices into the operations of organisations.
The commercial port city of Portsmouth is located on the central south coast of England. Portsmouth is the UK’s only island city with a population of 205,000 in the 2011 census. The city is one of the most densely populated in the UK.
The city has a proud maritime history going back centuries with rich and diverse cultural connections. It hosts numerous visitor attractions related to this history including the Royal Naval Museum and the Mary Rose. These connections continue today with the city being the home of the Royal Navy (hosting 2/3rd of the surface fleet) and various training facilities.
Additionally, Portsmouth International Port is a busy freight and ferry port (with connections to the Isle of Wight, Channel Islands and the Continent). The Port is also developing its cruise liner market and leading on port sustainability practices.
Portsmouth is highly vulnerable to flooding and sea level rise. Major new coastal defences are being implemented that reduce the risk of a major flood event now and for the next 100 years. Importantly, their aim is not just defence but to stimulate regeneration, enhance the public realm and improve the setting of historic and cultural features.
Themes explored here have included issues relating to climate change, coastal development and management, peoples connections to the sea and maritime heritage. It also considers how the work done through the Diverse Marine Values project can be applied to support local stakeholders, policy makers and the public to deliver a long term, holistic and sustainable approach to managing the coastline.
The Shetland Islands test site is the most northerly region within the United Kingdom, forming an archipelago of over 100 islands, of which sixteen are inhabited. The population of just over 22,000 is dispersed across the islands, with over two-thirds of jobs directly or indirectly dependent on the marine environment.
The management of Shetland’s marine resource has been locally prioritised, and local decision making has been championed by the local council and by marine sectors such as fisheries. This led to the creation of legislation and regulation which has allowed Shetland to take greater control over local marine management than is seen elsewhere in Scotland. This management has included control over marine licensing (via the ZCC Act), inshore fisheries (via a regulating order) and marine management (via the Shetland Marine Plan).
Historically Shetland’s economy was based on fishing and knitwear, with aquaculture, and oil and gas emerging as a key sector in the 1980s. The emergence of renewable energy in the form of wave, tide and offshore wind means that Shetland’s economy may transition again. This transition has the potential to impact local industries and cultural heritage.
The Shetland test area has provided an opportunity to examine how diverse values of the marine environment can be considered in an area where local mechanisms exist for marine management but in a highly utilised and commercially exploited marine environment.
Positioned on the boundary between England and Wales, Chepstow sits on the banks of the River Wye as it makes its way towards the dynamic Severn Estuary. Boasting the second highest tidal range in the world, the Severn Estuary is a dominant feature of the region, influencing even those communities further upstream, such as Chepstow.
This test site focuses on the town of Chepstow and the surrounding Wye catchment, an area less traditionally considered ‘coastal, yet it is a region directly influenced by the tides of the nearby Severn Estuary and the connections to the sea and coast can be seen far inland.
Working in this region has given the Diverse Marine Values team the opportunity to work closely with Monmouthshire County Council following their declaration of a Motion for the Rivers and Ocean. Through work in this area, we have explored community connection to the coast and the notion of rivers and estuaries as a ‘local ocean’ space, the concept of ocean literacy away from traditional definition of coast, as well as challenging who gets to be considered a ‘coastal community’.
Themes explored here have included issues relating to water quality and how this impacts community access and use of the river, as well as considering how the work done through the Diverse Marine Values project can be applied to support local authority action to deliver the Motion for the Rivers and Ocean.
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