Wildlife under stress
Until quite recently, humanity's numbers on Earth were stable at about 350 million. On average, each couple had two children who survived into adulthood. In the 18th century the development of efficient agriculture and transport shifted the balance and the global population first reached 1,000 million (one billion). In the 19th century, efficient healthcare and new standards of hygiene meant a sharp rise in human numbers which continues today.
In the last eighty years, a single human lifetime, the number of people on planet Earth has risen from less than 2 billion to nearly 7 billion.
The largest increases have been in poorer countries but wealthy countries have no reason to be complacent. Since the Second World War the population of the USA has more than doubled from 140 million to 308 million. In the same period the population of Britain has increased from 40 million to 61 million. Nearly half of that was in the last 10 years. And overpopulation is about consumption as much as it is about numbers. The amount consumed by the average American or European is enormously greater than the amount consumed by the average Indian, African or Asian. To sustain humanity's current levels of population and consumption we need all the resources of our own planet - plus half of those of another planet as well
The consequences of overpopulation are already severe for wildlife. Unless we use our intelligence now, it is not only wildlife but our own grandchildren who will suffer and die.
Overpopulation is the most important topic of all, but the hardest for us to face. It is the last taboo, the subject the media won't touch. However on 9 December 2009 on BBC1, the British naturalist David Attenborough presented the Horizon programme How Many People Can Live On Planet Earth? You may still be able to watch it online, either through the BBC iPlayer website or via the Optimum Population Trust.
Since the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century there has been a constant steep increase in human numbers. Through agriculture, fisheries, construction, manufacturing, waste disposal, distribution and transport we have exterminated many species and the consequences for humanity in the 21st century hardly bear thinking about.
The Green Revolution of the 20th century came when we fully realised the potential of oil for increased agricultural production, both as fuel for agricultural machinery and as agrochemicals, and we developed crops with up to three times the yield of previous varieties. Without these advances, human population growth would already have been capped by famine, plague and war.
So far so good, but nearly all fertile land is now in use and oil continues to rise in price. It is said that oil reserves will run out before the end of this century. In some countries 20% of fertile land has been turned over to production of biofuels. Despite irrigation schemes, or in many cases because of them, desert land is spreading. At the same time, the UN Food & Agriculture Organisation says that to avoid global famine we must increase food production by 70% in the next 40 years. FAO report How To Feed The World 2050. Wealthy countries unable to produce enough food for their populations are currently able to export the problem by having food produced overseas.
David Attenborough said"as I see it, humanity needs to reduce its impact on the Earth urgently and there are three ways to achieve this. We can stop consuming so many resources, we can change our technology and we can reduce the growth of our population. We probably need to do all three." How many of us have the willpower to consume fewer resources? Technology change will certainly help to feed us (vegetables grown indoors in liquid fertilisers, farmed fish, increasing use of yeast grown in vats). On the third point, the Optimum Population Trust's solution is simple - have no more than two children.
• Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overpopulation
• An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore's film about global warming - http://www.climatecrisis.net
• UN Environment Programme's Global Environmental Outlook Year Books. In particular GEO-4 2007 - http://www.unep.org/geo/yearbook/yb2007
• UN Food & Agriculture Organisation - http://www.fao.org
• Optimum Population Trust (of which David Attenborough is a patron) - www.optimumpopulation.org
Effect on wildlife
The more of us there are, the less room there is for other species. The UN says we need to increase food production. This means more habitat loss, more runoff pollution from agriculture, more over-fishing, and goodbye to many nature reserves.
We love to watch wildlife programmes on TV. Most of the iconic animals that we love to watch are now counted in thousands, not billions or even millions. Many of them are under direct and immediate threat of extinction. Not since the die-off of the dinosaurs have so many species been on the road to final extinction.
In the BBC programme cited above, David Attenborough noted that "in the oceans we have depleted fish stocks massively. 10% of the world's coral reefs are estimated to be degraded beyond recovery. A third of the world's amphibians, a fifth of all mammals and 70% of all plants are currently under threat of extinction".
The November 2009 press release from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature confirmed that of 46,677 species of animal and plant surveyed around the world, 36% are threatened with total extinction.
Implications for sea kayaking
Sea kayakers especially are drawn to remote and misty coasts where we can take a deep breath of fresh air and see our favourite animals and birds.
Until the 17th century, marine and coastal wildlife was present in large numbers around the coasts of Europe, Scandinavia and America. Today, remote and misty areas are their last sanctuary outside the Arctic.
European otters were common even in the 18th century but are now listed as "decreasing, near threatened".
Puffins and other iconic seabirds are rapidly heading for local extinction.
Sea kayakers can slip into places which are inaccessible to walkers and larger boats. We sometimes cause harm without realising it. We need to take care so that coastal creatures can live, breed and hunt without extra disturbance.
Too many human visitors can make a species abandon a beach or cliff where it has bred for thousands of years.
The Hebridean islands of Scotland have a small population and little tourism, but even so their natural environment has real problems, not necessarily caused by local people. Problems include over-fishing, abandoned fishing nets and tackle that kill marine mammals (bycatch); roadkill; habitat loss; use of agricultural and marine pesticides; pollution by dioxins and PCBs; oil spills; introduced species such as mink and rats; disturbance of nests; and shooting and poisoning of birds of prey. As far north as Shetland, puffins, arctic terns, arctic skuas, kittiwakes and gannets have experienced a massive population crash in the last couple of years. This is believed to be caused by over-fishing, global warming and pollution.
In France, Brittany is a natural focus for sea kayakers from half of Europe. It also gets a lot of general tourist traffic, afoot and afloat, and has been unlucky with oil spills. After the infamous "black tides" only 400 pairs of guillemots remained in the Sept Isles. Now there are only 12 pairs on Rouzic. Conservation authorities have responded by prohibiting fishing and camping on many of the smaller islands, and establishing exclusion zones round seabird colonies. Most of these areas are marked off with lines of yellow buoys and/ or warning signs, indicating "no access" from 15 March to 31 August.
Little is known about the effect of eco-tourism on wildlife. However it is clear that when human visitors disturb a coastal animal or bird and make it run, they reduce a creature's chances of breeding, or even surviving. Many creatures are known to be particularly stressed by human contact, from otters to the sanderling population in the next photo.
On a local or national level, sea kayakers have agreed to stay clear of certain areas at certain times. For example, conservation bodies have asked kayakers to stay clear of South Stack on Anglesey to avoid disturbing auks during the breeding season.
For south-west Wales, there is a Marine Code For Kayaking with agreed access restrictions to limit stress for seabirds, seals and cetaceans. See www.pembrokeshiremarinecode.org.uk or download the Code as a PDF.
For Scotland, two useful publications can be downloaded from the Publications section of the Scottish Natural Heritage website:
• Scottish Marine Wildlife Watching Code, which sets out general advice for walkers, boaters and divers.
• A Guide to Best Practice for Watching Marine Wildlife, which contains specific advice about particular species including such as cetaceans, basking sharks, seals, birds and otters.
For France, see Annexe 1 for an English translation of the CK/Mer Charte de l'Environnement, and for the original and a lot more go to www.ckmer.org
Government organisations in Tasmania have produced guidelines for sea kayakers which reflect local conditions and the views of conservation and leisure groups. See the website of the Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service. Last time we looked the MISK (Minimal Impact Sea Kayaking) document was on this page together with breeding sites and times for marine mammals and birds. Similar documents have been put together by commercial kayaking organizations elsewhere in Australia, New Zealand and North America.
Unfortunately there does not seem to be a central location where you can find out about these agreements. For the UK there is an interactive map of thousands of marine nature reserves of various sorts on the UK Marine Protected Areas Centre website. Most of these are of interest only to commercial fishermen, divers, waste disposal companies and developers but some are relevant to sea kayakers. It's not the most self-explanatory map we've ever seen. The alphabetical list of names looks as if it's hyperlinked but isn't, so if you want to find out about any specific part of the coast you have to zoom to the relevant part of the map and click on any little flags along that coast. If the link is not broken (and many of them are) you will then have to wade through an entire third-party website which relates mainly to civil engineering, trawling or tourism before you find the environmental parts. You're only scoring 1 out of a possible 10, guys.
We would be very happy to put a sea-kayak specific "click to view" map on this website, if kayakers and conservation bodies would like to tell us what details to insert. When writing in, please advise:
• The reason for the "no go" zone.
• Its location, with a good sketch map.
• The start and finish dates for the exclusion.
• The distance a kayaker should keep away.
See also Coastal & Sea Creatures.
Criminal offences
In most countries it is an offence to kill or harass many species of bird and animal. In the USA and Canada it is an offence under marine mammal protection law to harass or try to feed sea otters, seals, sea lions, dolphins and whales.
In England & Wales, see the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 at www.opsi.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1981/cukpga_19810069_en_1 or on the Statute Law Database. In Scotland see also the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/acts2004/asp_20040006_en_1
It is a criminal offence to disturb a dolphin, porpoise, whale, basking shark or otter. Special criminal penalties are provided for those who disturb certain birds, including the kingfisher and several ducks and terns. Many coastal plants are also protected. Poaching of fish or game on private property is an offence. Farmland, woodland, nature reserves and sea defences are all private property. There is a right to roam on some private land for purposes of open-air recreation. See Where Can You Carry Your Kayak?. However it is an offence to take a gun onto private land, including nature reserves, without the owner's permission. Wildfowlers are generally permitted to shoot geese, ducks, etc while standing on the foreshore, but many birds are legally protected at certain times of year. Taking oysters or mussels from commercial beds is likely to be an offence.
Leave No Trace ethics
Any code of conduct for sea kayakers comes down to this.
• Don't cause physical damage to the environment.
• Know when animal populations on beaches, cliffs and mud flats are vulnerable to disturbance, and give them a wide berth.
• If you're close enough to watch wild animals or birds and take good photos without specialist equipment, are you too close? See Binoculars.
• Don't leave rubbish or debris to spoil the experience for others.
A code of conduct needs to suit local conditions and be acceptable to kayaking groups, individual kayakers and environmental agencies.
In a sensitive and heavily-used area such as a national park there are likely to be exclusion zones and rules that beach fires are never acceptable, if camping is permitted it must be in a very small tent which is taken down at sunrise, and there may be a requirement that all human waste including faeces is to be carried back out for disposal.
For Scotland, see the SCA website at www.canoescotland.com. They have:
• Sea Kayaking - A Guide to Good Environmental Practice
• Wild Camping Advice for Canoeists
• Where to 'Go' In The Great Outdoors (which could be sub-titled How to Sh*t On The Beach).
Take all food packaging, wine bottles, disposable barbecues, etc, back out with you. Orange peel and kitchen towel can take two years to decompose even in a temperate coastal climate, and twenty years in a semi-arid climate.
In any part of the world, if you hide toilet paper or faeces in a plastic bag or under a rock, it will take forever to decompose and may offend a later visitor. In a crowded area, either bury them with a trowel or take them back out with you.
In a wilderness area, faeces can usually be left where the next high tide will wash them away. Sea water works just as well as toilet paper, but if you do use toilet paper it should either be burnt or put in a plastic bag and taken back out with you. If for some reason it is not practical, take a roll of toilet paper which is designed to disintegrate quickly. It is sold for use with chemical toilets and is easily available from camping and caravan shops, and motoring shops including Halfords.
In sensitive areas, don't light fires. See for example the code of conduct for Brittany, below. Elsewhere if you light a fire, use driftwood or dead wood if it is available. Unless you are in a real wilderness area which gets few visitors, don't break branches off trees. Make your fire on the beach so it does not damage vegetation or set fire to grass, heather or peat. Make it below the high tide line, so that the next high tide will wash away the remains. Bear in mind that the underside of a disposable barbecue gets hot enough to set fire to any wood or vegetation it stands on.
You can wash dishes with an environment-friendly liquid such as Ecover. This bio-degrades rapidly and is only minimally harmful to aquatic life.
Ordinary washing-up liquid is amazingly bad for the environment and pretty unkind to your hands.
If you haven't discovered Ecover yet, it is just as effective as ordinary detergent, better for the environment and your skin, and it smells good.
Leaving no trace is not just about not doing things - you can benefit from getting involved in community action. Have a look at the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics at www.lnt.org. The site doesn't seem to have a detailed code of conduct specifically for sea kayakers but LNT has got together with NOLS to agree these fundamental principles:
- Plan Ahead and Prepare
- Camp and Travel on Durable Surfaces
- Dispose of Waste Properly
- Leave What You Find
- Minimize Campfire Impacts
- Respect Wildlife
- Be Considerate of Other Visitors
LNT started in the USA and has international organisations in Australia, Canada and Ireland. Last time we looked there was no UK site yet but see www.leavenotraceireland.org
For more resources on the coastal and marine environment, and some successful environmental campaigning, see the Surfrider Foundation at www.surfrider.org. One of the most effective campaigning organisations in the UK is the Royal Society for Protection of Birds at www.rspb.org.uk
Annexe 1 -
CK/Mer Charte de l'Environnement
Originally written for Brittany, France. Co-written by environmental agencies and sea kayakers, adopted by CK/Mer, the French sea kayak network and the Comité Régional de Canoë-Kayak de Bretagne.
Be courteous at all times and respect other users. Offer to help anybody who seems to be in difficulty. Greet other seafarers, it's traditional!
Respect private property and any relevant regulations. Take account of any rules that apply to sites you intend to visit. You can find out what they are by contacting wardens or organisations responsible for managing nature reserves and other wild places.
Never camp on an island less than 60 metres in diameter, or one occupied by colonies of birds or seals during the breeding period from March to the end of August. On land, avoid nesting areas and the beaches where seals breed and have pups.
Choose any overnight camp site with care. Don't leave your tent there for more than one night, both to reduce its impact on plants and wildlife and to avoid encouraging others to set up camp away from authorised camp sites.
Never wash anything in a pool or stream. Always wash on land using a biodegradable soap. That way, the soil will act as an effective filter.
Take all rubbish away with you and make sure, on leaving your camp site, that you leave no trace of your visit on a sensitive and fragile site, and particularly on the vegetation. Deal with your own wastes, and leave nothing, whether on an uninhabited island or elsewhere.
Never make an open fire.
Don't go closer than100 metres to wildlife. As you go by, reduce any disturbance by keeping moving and keeping the noise down. Don't slow down or turn to go towards birds or animals. Never chase them or surround them. Decide on your course in advance and don't change it unless you have to.
Never touch a marine mammal, even if it approaches you, for reasons of safety and hygiene.
If you see signs of anxiety or panic on the part of wildlife (prolonged calls, attempts to escape, dive-bombing by birds), withdraw quietly.
The coastal environment is sensitive. Avoid activities which may damage it.
Help us understand the natural world. If you see rare plants or wildlife, or significant environmental problems, or you have questions relating to the natural world, contact the management organisation or warden.
Finally, if in doubt, don't!
Go to next page for:
• Coastal & Sea Creatures
