Sustainable Surfing

Gregory Borne, Jess Ponting, Gregory Borne, Jess Ponting

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781317396567
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Naturwissenschaften
• Subtopic: Geographie

Whilst being an ambiguous and contested concept, sustainability has become one of the twenty-first century's most pervasive ideas, as humanity's increasing impact on the environment, as well as increasing social and economic inequalities, have local and global consequences. Surfing is a globally recognised cultural phenomenon whose unique connection with nature and rapid expansion into a multibillion pound industry offers exciting synergies for exploring various dimensions of sustainability.

This book is the first to bring together the world's foremost experts on the themes of sustainability and surfing. Drawing upon cutting edge theory and research, this book offers multidisciplinary perspectives and methodological approaches on the social, environmental and economic components of sustainable surfing. Contributions provide unique discussions that bridge the gap between theory and practice, exploring topics such as sustainable surf tourism, surf-econometrics, surf activism, surfing governance, the surfing industry, and technological advancements. Each chapter produces in-depth insights to provide foundational insights of the relationship between sustainability and surfing.

This book will appeal to multiple audiences in different disciplines and sectors. Practitioners will benefit from the insights presented in this volume, while both undergraduate and postgraduate students will find this volume an invaluable companion, including those working in geography, environmental studies, sport sciences, and leisure and tourism studies.

Part I

Introduction

1 Sustainability and surfing in a risk society

Gregory Borne

Introduction

This book will explore and expand on the relationship between sustainability and surfing. Throughout the book a number of themes and issues are evident. These include, though are not confined to, the scale and the impact of the surfing industry, the importance of the interaction between environment, society and economy, technological advancements, surfing’s historical narrative, the role of surf activism and stakeholder engagement in coastal protection, issues relating to localism, overcrowding and surfing’s impact on coastal environments, and the creation of artificial surfing spaces and what this means for surfing’s future. This is achieved through a balance of theoretical debate, policy analysis, and practical application that builds a progressive picture of the relationship between sustainability and surfing, from the impact that surfing has in the world but also the ability of surfing to provide solutions both within the surfing zone and beyond. With that in mind this chapter will not elaborate any further on these issues or summarize the broader relationship between sustainability and surfing (see Borne and Ponting 2015; Borne 2015). Instead I jump in at the deep end and offer a theoretical frame that presents one possible perspective on sustainability and surfing.

To this end the chapter is organized in the following way achieving a number of important goals. Initially, the ambiguity of surfing is discussed highlighting surfing’s connection to the natural world which perhaps forms the foundation of the relationship between sustainability and surfing. This is followed by a critical discussion of sustainable development and sustainability within the overarching context of risk, which allows a focused and succinct introduction to a vast and diversely understood concept. The focus then turns to the notion of risk itself where the seminal work of German social theorist Ulrich Beck is discussed. This inevitably elaborates on the underlying premises of the modern world emphasising in particular the often divergent perspectives of ecological modernisation and reflexive modernity. In so doing the epistemological context is established for the subsequent narrative informing not only underlying normative assumptions of sustainability but also contextualising debates in subsequent chapters. Having explored the state of modernity in a risk society I then emphasise the synergies that exist between a reflexive modernity and sustainable development suggesting that a symbiotic relationship exist between the two. This establishes a connection between theoretical speculation and empirical observation and opens up a space to explore a relationship with surfing at a very fundamental level. In order to achieve this I then provide a brief overview of existing, and where pertinent emerging areas of surfing research. This serves to provide a broad overview of surfing literature as well as furthering the overall argument of the chapter. The last part of the chapter provides an overview of the books structure. Finally, this chapter should be read in conjunction with the conclusion to this book which reengages with these discussions drawing on insights from the books contributors.

At the outset it is important to briefly explore a definition, or lack thereof, of surfing for the purposes of this chapter. It is tempting to describe surfing simply as a sport, and with an established world tour and its recent success for inclusion as an Olympic sport in the 2020 Olympic Games this is not surprising. And of course at one level surfing is a sport. However, surfing is a lifestyle activity and as such operates from within, across and beyond many categories. As Doug Booth explains, the notion of surfing as a sport ‘… remains a contentious subject among surfers who consider the activity a dance with a natural energy from in which the rider shares an intimate relationship with nature’ (2013: 5). Anderson (2014) highlights Ford and Brown’s (2006) definition that ‘… the core of surfing has always simply been the embodiment, raw and immediate glide or slide along the wave of energy passing through water’ (2006: 149). What is crucial here in both definitions is the relationship to nature and the direct elemental contact that is the central experience of surfing. It is from this understanding that a critical relationship between surfing and sustainability extends.

This relationship between surfer and wave has been variously described as relational sensibility (Anderson 2009, 2013a, 2013b), affect (Booth 2013) or stoke (Borne and Ponting 2015). We will return to this point later in the chapter. Ultimately, it is recognised that surfing is a lose construct and that it actually has no edges or parameters from which to define it (Lazarow and Olive, this volume). This then as we will see bears a striking resemblance to the concept of sustainability and it is this acknowledgement in part, that creates an enticing and irresistible marriage between the two. Moreover, this dichotomy between sport and play will feed into core discussions in this chapter on modernity as this is ‘… seen as integral to the subculture’s role as an agent of postmodernization within a postmodernizing mainstream’ (Stranger 2011: 215). And further extending Stranger’s observation on the role of the aesthetics of risk and reflexivity in surfing, this chapter will establish sustainability as a response to risk with a focus on the relationship between a risk society and sustainable development.

Sustainable development as a response to risk

Multiple reports and assessments in the past few years point to the following. The global population now stands at 7.4 billion, global greenhouse gas emissions are increasingly impacting on multiple facts of anthropogenic climate change. Biodiversity loss is continuing to accelerate, social inequality is growing and economic instability threatens social and political integrity on a global basis (UNEP 2012, 2016; UNDP 2015).

The increased use of the term sustainability, which has proliferated in the past 40 years, is a direct response to the recognition of increased risks. During this period there has been a transition of the concept from one that focuses specifically on the environment and environmental policy to one that now encapsulates the full plethora of human/environment interaction. This expansion into the three pillars of sustainable development, namely environment, society and economy, has been complemented by dimensions that include power, politics and culture. This evolution of the concept is now well documented, from the early works of Rachel Carson (1962), Aldo Leopold (1970) and Barry Commoner (1971), which can be said to have initiated the early environmentalist movement. There have also been pivotal events such as the United Nations Conference on Human Environment in 1972, the World Commission on Environment and Development (Bruntland Commission) between 1984 and 1987, the Earth Summit (1992) and the publication of Agenda 21, the World Summit on Sustainable Development through to the recent adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (see Borne 2010, 2015; Blewitt 2015; Gupta and Vegelin 2016; Linner and Selin 2013).

In the World Commission on Environment and Development report Our Common Future (1987), sustainable development is defined as: ‘Development that meets the needs of present populations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’ (WCED 1987: 3). Importantly, what needs to be established here is the ambiguous and contested nature of sustainable development as a concept. Within this there are two concepts. The first is the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, and the second is the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organisation on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs (WCED 1987: 43). The report summarised that in order to achieve sustainable development the following would be crucial. A political system that secures effective citizen participation in decision making; an economic system that is able to generate surpluses and technical knowledge on a self-reliant and sustained basis; a social system that provides solutions for the tensions arising from disharmonious development; a production system that respects obligations to preserve the ecological base for development; a technological system that can search continuously for new solutions; an international system that fosters sustainable patterns of trade and finance; and an administrative system that is flexible and has the capacity for self-correction (WCED 1987: 65)

With the above in mind the concept has drawn considerable criticism on multiple fronts. As a concept, it has been described as an oxymoron, that no development by its very nature can be sustainable. Sustainability means so many different things to different people that ultimately it is ineffective as a concept to drive policy, implement programmes, create legislation and generally promote solutions. Perhaps the most serious accusation levelled against sustainable development is that it is a term that does nothing more than legitimise existing modes of production and consumption. This has often been termed ‘green wash’, where sustainable development is adopted by whatever body that might want to appear to be doing the right thing, and in different contexts these criticisms are seen to be true. But why then do we have a term like sustainable development at all and why has it now become one of the dominant concepts of the twenty-first century? I argue that there are two principle reasons for this. First, the vagueness of the concept means that it appeals to everybody. Second, whatever your opinion of the concept, there is little doubt that the direction that humanity is currently moving in is quite simply unsustainable. As a result, the idea continues to grow and embed itself in all facets of life. What is essential is to explore critically what it may mean in different contexts. Applying this understanding to sustainability in the surfing world highlights the value of exploring this relationship in multiple locales and sectors.

As well as being a response to the risks created by human interaction with the environment, sustainability has facilitated a paradigm shift, from an epistemological perspective of the way that we view and address these risks, ‘… as we explore ways of achieving a sustainable future, it is recognised that the problems faced by the world today and the risks that come with them, are themselves complex, uncertain non-linear crossing disciplinary boundaries, sectors and nations’ (Borne 2015: 24). This has resulted in increased attention being paid to ideas of sustainability science, complex adaptive systems and idea of reflexivity. Authors in this volume either explicitly or implicitly allude to the need to adopt an approach that is complex and systemic. Most notably Martin and O’Brien, in the opening chapter to Part II, explore the idea of a resource system boundary. What follows will emphasise the idea of reflexivity and how this can inform debates on sustainability and surfing.

A risk society

Underpinning these discussions are tensions that define how modern societies operate and how this has altered over time, particularly since the Industrial Revolution. With this in mind in the following discussion I will begin to build the narrative of the relationship between sustainability and surfing though a lens of modernity as understood in a risk society. At the core of this narrative applicable to both sustainability and surfing is humanity’s changing relationship to nature. As already indicated the rise of sustainable development on the global stage is a result of risk. This has led some commentators to argue that risk has now formed an organising principle within society. Seminal in this field is Ulrich Beck, who has evolved an understanding of risk through a number of key works: Risk Society (1992), Global Risk Society (1999) and finally The Metamorphosis of the World (2016). Beck argues that an older industrial society, whose basic principle was the distribution of goods, is being replaced by an emergent risk society, structured around the distribution of hazards. Within this analysis Beck distinguishes between three epochs of modernity. These are pre-modernity, industrial – or first – modernity and finally late – or reflexive modernity.

Broadly, the concept of modernity has been used to describe a sweeping set of social relation...