GCRF Blue Communities Research Programme -

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17 December 2020

By Dr Isabel Richter, University of Plymouth

It is a challenge to remain optimistic during a global pandemic and to see the cup half full when the world is struggling under a deadly virus. When you look beyond all the horror stories in the news, you can, however, find some articles talking about positive side-effects of COVID-19.

These stories tell us about dolphins being spotted in Venice’s channels, birds perfecting their songs as noise pollution decreases, significant drops in carbon emissions worldwide and people realizing how important social relationships are.

For the Blue Communities project members, COVID-19 lead to major interruptions, postponed or cancelled activities, and collaborations only taking place via virtual channels. The question remains what COVID-19 means for our project's case study sites and for sustainable development. To explore this question, Project 12 hosted a workshop during the Blue Communities Annual Meeting in July 2020 with the aim to revisit previously developed scenarios and explore COVID-19 induced changes.

The scenarios we used as a baseline have been co-developed with local stakeholders in each case study site (Palawan, Cu Lao Cham, Selayar and Tun Mustapha Park) before the virus pandemic. They depict the future of each site in 10 years’ time, year 2030. In addition to the four South East Asia Scenarios, we developed a North Devon Biosphere Reserve Scenario pre and post COVID-19 (image right).

During the workshop we identified environmental, economic and societal changes in each case study site induced by the pandemic and thereby, created new, post-COVID-19 scenarios. Special attention was paid to the changes that could provide a springboard for sustainable development. Examples for these springboards are the recovery of some ecosystems (but not others) that can help to identify locations for marine protected areas, the re-orientation to self-sustained lifestyles and the acquisition of “new old” skills like growing vegetables, as well as rising appreciation for nature as a space for comfort, pleasure and social interaction.

We found a few topics, such as changes in tourism and new dynamics within families, that all case study sites had in common, albeit with different characteristics and consequences. Whilst for example the North Devon Biosphere Reserve could benefit from more national tourism as international travel was banned, the South East Asian sites faced severe difficulties as their main economic pillar broke off and visitors stayed away.

Each scenario features at least one theme that appears to be unique for the particular case study. In Palawan, this is the live reef food fish trade that was forced to an abrupt halt, leading to economic losses but also providing an opportunity for the marine ecosystems to recover. In Malaysia, the spread of COVID-19 amongst the undocumented communities is having serious repercussions on public health and well-being, potentially leading to new legal frameworks. In Vietnam, people came back to their traditional skills and livelihoods and started appreciating the presence of less tourists and the bounce back of natural systems. In Indonesia, the communities living on the small island of Selayar have been forced to rely on subsistence agriculture activities to support themselves, if only temporarily. Nevertheless, the new agricultural skills obtained by fishers during this time of hardship may be beneficial to increase their resilience as it diversifies their source of nutrition and potentially, income. In the UK, there has been a move to working online (or a blend of online and face-to-face delivery) for education and many office-based jobs. Some people have learned new technological skills, or started up new businesses from home, which they will be able to use in the future.

For sustainable development we conclude that under current and future scenarios, the appropriateness of locations for marine protected areas should be reviewed to consider the different local and national food security and conservation needs. The consequences of the pause or reduction in fishing activities should be documented and used to identify those species that would benefit from seasonal pauses in fishing. The sources of plastic and other pollution are likely to change and will need to be addressed.

We think that it is possible to make use of this COVID-19 window of opportunity and to “build back better” as called for by the The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OEDC). The pandemic has provided a moment to stop, think and potentially reset current practices and we have the chance to take advantage of this break and turn the tide for sustainable development.

To return to Blue Communities News December 2020, please click here.

Looking through the COVID-19 Window of Opportunities

17 December 2020

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