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Introduction:
Biodiversity
“A wide
variety of species within a habitat”
“A high level of biodiversity provides ecosystem
stability”
“Biodiversity provides many of the essentials for human
life”
Despite
our
advances in technology and science we still lack vital information
concerning our oceans, climate and ecosystems. We are now more aware
that all of these earth systems are inextricably linked and that our
actions affect the delicate balance of nature, which in turn effects us.
Governments
are
aware of the growing potential of problems and have held many
conferences. Stockholm 1972 produced the United Nations Environment
Programme. In 1983 the World Commission on Environment and Development
defined the “sustainable” concept as:
“Development
that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs”.
The
1992 Rio Earth
Summit agreed on a comprehensive strategy for sustainable development.
Two binding agreements emerged: The Convention on Climate Change and
The Convention on Biological Diversity. More information can be
obtained from the Convention on Biological Diversity website.
The
Scottish
Executive is committed to the joint aims of the Scottish Biodiversity
Strategy, “To halt the loss of Scotland’s
biodiversity and
continue to reverse previous losses by targeted action for species and
habitats”, and “To raise awareness of the many
benefits of
biodiversity by significantly increasing the number and range of people
contributing to its conservation and enhancement”.
The
Local
Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP) for Argyll & Bute states,
“Biodiversity is important for human existence as it provides
many of the essentials of life, i.e. oxygen, water, food, clothing,
health and relaxation. The value of biodiversity extends from cultural
and landscape benefit to economic potential for new developments in
food, medical technology and natural services”. You can find
more
at the UK BAP website.
Governments
are now
starting to take climate change seriously; it is also time for these
governments to do the same with biodiversity: No Take Zones
are
essential.
For
these reasons
alone, surely we should protect at least some of our special areas?
Marine Protected Areas are found around the world and they vary in the
level of protection. No Take Zones afford the highest levels of
protection and have the ability to regenerate communities and restore
biomass. What this means is that some areas are given a high level of
protection, these areas recover from human activities and in turn the
beneficial effects “spill over” into the
surrounding areas.
Often commercial operatives target these surrounding areas, the species
are larger, more of them, and more varied and this gives greater
returns for commercial stakeholders.
In
the UK the
Royal Commission in its report, “Turning the Tide”
stated
for recovery of our commercial fishing grounds at least 30 percent of
our fishing grounds should become “No Take Zones”.
In
Scotland where more than half of the Scottish area is sea this still
leaves huge areas for current commercial users to operate. Within a
relatively short time period these no take zones would produce high
dividends to all stakeholders and leave a useful, valuable legacy to
our future generations…not to mention save some of our
special
areas and animals.
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