The Precautionary Principle inside and outside Marine Protected Areas. Dr Becky Hitchin Offshore Industries Advice Manager JNCC Marine Advice Aberdeen

Transcription

1 The Precautionary Principle inside and outside Marine Protected Areas Dr Becky Hitchin Offshore Industries Advice Manager JNCC Marine Advice Aberdeen

2 Overview Joint Nature Conservation Committee The Precautionary Principle Uncertainty in Scientific Knowledge Limitations of current evidence Limitations of analysis Understanding impact Natural variation Guideline / policy wording Conclusions

3 JNCC

4 JNCC Statutory advisor to Government on nature conservation Development / implementation of nature conservation policies within the UK UK wide internationally Lead on nature conservation in UK offshore waters Contribute to the development and understanding of UK evidence base and evidence needs UK coordination

5 JNCC marine workstreams Marine Protected Areas (MPS) Fisheries, Cetaceans and Seabirds Marine Evidence Marine Ecosystem Assessment and Advice Marine Monitoring Offshore Industry Advice (OIA)

6 The Precautionary Principle

7 What is the Precautionary Principle? The fundamental principle underlying all environmental policy countering a tendency to overlook scientific uncertainties in an unscientific manner raises issues which are central to current international debates around environment, poverty, sustainable development and biodiversity a pointless distraction from the real issues anti-scientific, subject to abuse, inherently Northern, anti-innovation, and anti-sustainable a safeguard for future generations (Cooney, 2004)

8 Definition considered here ensures that a[n]... activity posing a threat to the environment is prevented from adversely affecting the environment, even if there is no conclusive scientific proof linking that particular... activity to environmental damage. (Cameron and Abouchar ) 1 Cameron, J. and Abouchar, J. (1991) The Precautionary Principle. Boston College International And Comparative Law Review, 14(1): 1-27.

9 First part of a risk pathway Adequate evidence absent Use of PP justified Reputation Specific risk profiles Cost Thresholds Application Operational Adequate evidence present Use of PP not justified

10 Types of scientific uncertainty within consenting process Examples from JNCC teams and what we re doing to work on reducing uncertainty

11 Types of scientific uncertainty Developer Limitations of current evidence All Limitations of analyses SNCBs / consultees Understanding impact Regulators / Govt Guideline and policy wording Science bodies Natural variation

12 Developer Limitations of current evidence All Limitations of analyses SNCBs / consultees Understanding impact Science bodies Natural variation Regulators / Govt Guideline and policy wording

13 OIA survey evidence Distance from operations Date of surveys Survey techniques

14 MPS Haig Fras site boundary changes Fishing vessels data 2009 showed reef habitat outwith the existing site boundaries JNCC / Cefas surveys in 2011 and 2012 confirmed this Boundary amended to more tightly reflect presence and extent of Annex I feature

15 OIA ornithology Displacement and OWF Empirical evidence for displacement and energetic costs lacking Often due to difficulties in Detecting change in mobile spp. distribution Quantifying the energetic costs of any change However, we know displacement can occur for some species and there will be an energetic cost Use of ranges to estimate impact likelihood Use of proxies and / expert opinion

16 Developer Limitations of current evidence All Limitations of analyses SNCBs / consultees Understanding impact Science bodies Natural variation Regulators / Govt Guideline and policy wording

17 Evidence Assessing Sabellaria reefs Novel methodology developed to assess Sabellaria spinulosa reefiness video transects split into 5 second segments presence/absence percentage cover estimation of average tube elevation image quality

18 JNCC Assessing Arctica islandica How to adequately survey quahog? Video Grabs? East of Gannet survey Gear comparison studies Reworking of conservation objectives Proportional, practical advice Images on right (c) Bernard Picton

19 Developer Limitations of current evidence All Limitations of analyses SNCBs / consultees Understanding impact Science bodies Natural variation Regulators / Govt Guideline and policy wording

20 OIA - Marine mammals / noise Limited evidence Marine mammal hearing thresholds limited species / captive animals Population distributions and localised populations Displacement behaviour / species sensitivity Advice currently precautionary even though the chance of a mammal entering a marine noise mitigation zone is pretty low Implement JNCC marine noise mitigation guidelines (seismic, piling and explosives) currently under review PCoD use of expert judgement Noise registry established to assess the distribution of loud impulsive noise in space and time

21 MPS Recovery in Faroe-Shetland Channel Deep-water megafaunal density and diversity recovers partially from drilling disturbance after 3 yr Impacts on epibenthic megafaunal assemblages are still distinguishable after a decade Recovery studies can allow us to decide on monitoring remit and realistic impact assessments Images (c) Daniel Jones

22 OIA Understanding recovery from impact Aggregates industry / CEFAS / RAG working on UK wide dataset to inform benthic impact and recovery Each region will be surveyed every 7 years Example of forwardthinking good practice in aggregates

23 Developer Limitations of current evidence All Limitations of analyses SNCBs / consultees Understanding impact Science bodies Natural variation Regulators / Govt Guideline and policy wording

24 Evidence natural variation Defra contracts Analysis of existing data to study effects of towed fishing gears against a background of natural variability (Phase I and II) Aggregates RSMP User-friendly update to UKDMOS

25 Types of scientific uncertainty Developer Limitations of current evidence All Limitations of analyses SNCBs / consultees Understanding impact All Guideline wording Regulators / Govt Policy wording Science bodies Natural variation

26 OIA / MPS Understanding risk in policy Any plan or project not directly connected with or necessary to the management of the site but likely to have a significant effect thereon If the authority believes that there is or may be a significant risk of the act hindering the achievement of the conservation objectives stated for the MCZ... When considering whether a function or act is capable of affecting (other than insignificantly) a protected feature of an MPA the following should be considered: All existing data for the area Scale, intensity, timing and duration of proposed function or act Sensitivity of protected feature to the proposed function or act Levels of risk interpreted from laws or guidelines can vary greatly among organisations Criteria for significance? How high the bar should be for testing whether effect is significant? What level of evidence base needed to fulfil these criteria?

27 MPS Conservation Advice JNCC is revising conservation advice framework Consistent in approach and structure Ensure consistent approach MPA designations / similar protected features Provide quantified objectives where possible Clearly identify which activities are capable of impacting a site s features Conservation objectives attributes and targets scientific literature and expert judgment

28 Monitoring guidelines / standards [2016]

29 Conclusions

30 Conclusions Very few industry applications within consenting processes have adequate evidence for all impacts the PP is almost always applicable PP is a first step in a wider pathway of precaution Major differences among conservation bodies, regulators, industry, NGOs etc Oil and gas, aggregates, renewables all treated the same? Should all be treated the same?

31 Conclusions Further guidance is needed on how legislation should be interpreted so that the levels of precaution associated with different levels of risk can be better evaluated significant likely de minimis not insignificant

32 Conclusions PP needs to be considered by all participants in the consenting process Regulators have a particular responsibility as their remit lies at the heart of the PP: The Precautionary Principle stipulates that where the environmental risks being run by regulatory inaction are in some way (a) uncertain, but (b) non-negligible, regulatory inaction is unjustified 1 1 Addressing Uncertainty: Law, Policy and the Development of the Precautionary principle. Cameron, J and W. Wade-Gery. CSERG working paper GEC 92-43

33 What is the Precautionary Principle? The fundamental principle underlying all environmental policy countering a tendency to overlook scientific uncertainties in an unscientific manner raises issues which are central to current international debates around environment, poverty, sustainable development and biodiversity a pointless distraction from the real issues anti-scientific, subject to abuse, inherently Northern, anti-innovation, and anti-sustainable a safeguard for future generations (Cooney, 2004)

34 Questions Dr Becky Hitchin Offshore Industries Advice Manager JNCC Marine Advice Aberdeen