But in fact, the opposite is true. For years the major private

international dredging companies and their umbrella industry

organisation, the International Association of Dredging Companies,

have invested heavily, not only in remedying the perception of being

‘environmentally unfriendly’, but in seeking transparency and indeed in

becoming an environmentally conscious and friendly industry. Largely

unacknowledged are the intensive, multi-year-long environmental impact

assessments that take place before dredging starts and the meticulous

and high tech ‘adaptive’ or feedback monitoring that is ongoing during

a project, and continues for significant timeframes after a project’s

completion.

Yet, admittedly, solutions that give equal weight to the care of the

environment and economic progress are not simple. Birds and boats –

clearly we need them both. Recently a new analytical instrument has

been added to the arsenal supporting decision making which leads to a

sound balance: Ecosystem Services.

What is Ecosystem Services? Ecosystem Services (ES) aims to make a fair comparison between

the economic contributions of businesses versus the intrinsic value of

ecosystems and biodiversity. ES does this by giving ‘nature’ a monetary

value, i.e., defining it as ‘natural capital’. In this way, stakeholders,

government and owners of infrastructure can compare apples with

apples. They can better determine what we gain and what we lose

by building a new port or extending an old one, or by replenishing an

eroded beach, which may also be a coastal defence against rising sea

levels.

An ecosystem is defined as the animals and plants found in a

particular location. Although their biodiversity is crucial to the overall well

being of the environment, ecosystems are subject to many pressures,

both natural and human. Natural pressures include weather, climate in

general and the topography of the region as well as the competition

between species. Human pressures include the introduction of

non-native species through global shipping traffic, the construction of

maritime infrastructures, dredging and climate change.

The launching pad for ES and the monetary valuation of our

ecosystems was the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) (2005).

The MA is an analysis by some 1300 international scientists on the state

of Earth’s ecosystems. The report concluded that human activities are

12 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk

René Kolman explains why applying Ecosystem Services to the maritime industry benefits the industry, the client and the consumer

watersNo more muddy

Dredging is (too) often seen as an invasive activity. Working on the seabed, more or less invisible to those on land, the industry is sometimes suspected of disrupting the planet’s marine life, the flora and fauna beneath the seas, and creating turbulence or, as it were, muddying the waters.

l Life-supporting, the long-term significance of nutrient cycles,

photosynthesis and crop pollination; and

l Cultural, such as educational, spiritual and recreational

enhancements.

How does this affect the maritime industry? The oceans are both key to sustaining life on Earth and simultaneously

they are a conduit for 90 per cent of the world’s trade and for

connecting people and markets. How do we combine these two basic

necessities?

Ports and other maritime infrastructure construction projects

regularly encounter resistance from stakeholders wishing to conserve

valuable habitats. Internationally, this has led to the adoption of multiple

layers of legislation – for instance, the RAMSAR Convention on

Wetlands (http://www.ramsar.org) – and the European Union’s Habitat

Directives to protect and conserve fauna, flora and their habitats. Many

other countries have their own list of regulations guarding natural

having a very significant and not-so-positive impact on the biodiversity

of global ecosystems; that people, as individuals and as corporations,

are contributing to the reduction and the lack of resilience and bio-

capacity of ecosystems. The result is a growing loss of ‘natural capital’.

Preserving ‘natural capital’Natural capital is defined as the resources of the planet’s lands, waters

and its biodiversity. Ecosystem Services are the benefits, which derive

from natural capital. It includes such obvious resources or ‘assets’

as clean water and fresh air, agricultural crops for food, wild life and

plants as well as fossil fuels and minerals necessary for economic

development. The MA defines four basic categories of Ecosystem

Services:

l Provisioning, products supplied from ecosystems, such as food,

water and fuel;

l Regulatory, the benefits derived from regulating water, erosion,

flooding, climate and air quality control;

www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 13

DREDGINGDREDGING

Main photo and left: Aerial view of the coral reefs, red mangrove and the luminous lagoon which are located in close vicinity to the project footprint of the cruise terminal in Falmouth, Jamaica. As a mitigation measure, coral was detached from the cruise terminal access channel prior to dredging and reattached in a comparable nearby marine environment

Above: During the dredging of a cruise harbour in Jamaica, coral was transferred by being loaded into hanging baskets and then walked by divers to the designated reattachment area or towed by a boat when weather conditions allowed it

Left: Close up of a hard coral colony detached and in a basket ready for transfer.

14 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk

resources and assets as they interact with the maritime industry. But

these regulations, as useful as they are, have proven to be insufficient.

A new, bolder step was needed and that has given impetus to the

Ecosystem Services approach.

Co-operation is better than co-existenceRecently a number of maritime organisations have been focusing on

the subject. The Central Dredging Association issued a white paper on

ES, PIANC is examining how to apply the concept, and the IADC has

also issued a Facts About Ecosystem Services and Dredging (http://

tinyurl.com/njlzdzs). The knowledge institute EcoShape Foundation

(www.ecoshape.nl) is a public-private group which for several years has

operated a research programme ‘Building with Nature,’ through which it

conducts pilot projects that aim to make the ecosystem the focal point

of a project rather than an after-thought.

But how do natural assets weigh against concrete business assets?

If the loss of natural capital reduces essential long-term benefits to

people and the planet, can this loss (and conversely gain) be defined in

financial terms?

An important step forward in creating a valuation framework is

the recent formation of the Natural Capital Coalition (http://www.

naturalcapitalcoalition.org/). In 2007 a global initiative was launched by

Germany and the European Commission known as The Economics

of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) supported by UNEP (United

Nations Environment Programme). As of January 2014, TEEB has been

rebranded as the Natural Capital Coalition (NCC) and continues its

co-operation with UNEP. NCC is working with key stakeholders from

business, government and civil society, and the ultimate goal is to

achieve a shift in corporate behaviour to preserve and enhance – rather

than deplete – natural capital. Its first aim is to develop a ‘harmonised

valuation system for natural capital in business decision making, e.g.,

supply chain management, financial accounting, corporate reporting and

disclosure’.

This effort to provide practical market tools marks a new path

beyond contentious co-existence to actual co-operation. Since dredging

contractors already implement processes for project management,

which reflect a deep concern with ecosystem preservation, taking the

next step – embracing Ecosystem Services and the natural capital

approach – is a logical move. n

René Kolman is secretary general of the International Association of

Dredging Companies (IADC). IADC is the global umbrella organisation

for contractors in the private dredging industry. As such the IADC is

dedicated to not only promoting the skills, integrity and reliability of its

members, but also the dredging industry in general. IADC has over 100

main and associated members. Together they represent the forefront of

the dredging industry. For further information, visit:

www.iadc-dredging.com.

dredgingdredging

Above: Divers near the New Caledonia port construction site are measuring the coral to check compliance with the thresholds outlined in the Environmental Management Plan. Environmental monitoring was continuous

Main photo: Le coeur de Voh, New Caledonia, the world famous mangrove in the form of a heart, is located only a short distance from the project site for a new port. In 2008, a large part of the lagoons surrounding New Caledonia were inscribed on the list of UNESCO-IUCN World Heritage sites