A major conference is being held in Barnstaple to discuss the huge North Devon Biosphere and the economic opportunities it provides. The event will feature leading business leaders including the head of German manufacturing giant Siemens.
Organised by South West Business Council (SWBC), hosted by Petroc College and inspired by the Biosphere, the Natural Capital - Business and the Environment Working Together symposium will feature a glittering line-up of speakers including Dr Tony Juniper, chair of Natural England; Lord Robin Teverson, until recently chairman of the Lord’s Environmental Committee; Prof Ian Bateman, a leading research experts of environmental economics. Also speaking will be Andy Bell, chief executive of the Biosphere; and Ben Sheath, managing director of Siemens, which has recently signed a sponsorship agreement between the firm and the Biosphere, meaning Northern Devon has access to one of the most powerful and innovative data management companies in the world.
In addition, Caroline Price, senior development manager for the Crown Estate, will talk about the realities of seabed farming and floating offshore wind. The event will be facilitated by Prof Vicky Pope, who until recently was a senior director at the Met Office.
Tim Jones, chairman of SWBC, said: “There have not been many recent occasions when such a prestigious line-up has been assembled in North Devon. This does, however, admirably illustrate the powerful opportunity which is in our hands.”
The Biosphere covers the whole of the catchments of the Rivers Taw and Torridge. The land area extends to 2,946 square miles (1,885,440 acres), and Mr Jones said: “Importantly, however, the Biosphere also has a significant marine footprint covering a vast area which includes the Isle of Lundy and extends to approximately 2,300 square miles of sea (1,472,000 acres). This whole area is larger than Greater London.
“Being a Biosphere is a unique designation. There are only six other Biosphere’s in the UK. Of course, the North Devon Biosphere is by far the most important of these.”
Being a Biosphere also means that it forms part of the UNESCO Biosphere Global network. There are 738 Biosphere’s around the world. These cover 5% of the global land mass and within them live a quarter of a billion people.
“Within our Biosphere, we have a population of just under 200,000. There are also around 5,000 farms included,” Mr Jones said. “For nearly 20 years it has been operating as an environmental project supported by many of the senior research and academic bodies in the UK.
“A couple of years ago, it was decided that new opportunities should also be explored. None of these compromised in any way the environment we cherish. The plan was to enhance the natural amenities we have, whilst at the same time capitalising upon the value of natural energy.
“Timing for this new initiative could not have been better. Today almost everyone wants a piece of our action. We have some quite spectacular programmes under development currently.
“Some of the easy picking include initiatives like tree planting. This captures carbon (carbon sequestration). There are numerous opportunities to develop this, both for short and long term benefit.”
He stressed that the plan is not just to plant trees and return in 25 years to see how they are getting on. He said: “This is an actively managed project which is and will include many local businesses who can participate. Examples of business activities include primary timber treatment and utilisation, such as, modular housing and other structures, disease control initiatives, eco-recreation, eco-tourism, green health initiatives and many others.
“When we are not planting trees we are able to help our agricultural economy to make the transition from Single Farm Payments to the new regime for Payment for Environmental Services. At a simple level, this can include the production of energy crops which can be used for the production of green electricity, including hydrogen).”
Mr Jones said marine assets are “equally exciting” and said: “We divide these into two parts, the intertidal areas, around Bideford Bay for example, and the areas of sea bed which have permanent water coverage. ]
“The opportunities here are truly incredible. There is a huge industry waiting to emerge from this. We tend to think of our marine assets in terms of projects such as floating offshore wind turbines. Whilst this is a topical issue, it is only a small part of the opportunity we have.
“The potential for seabed farming is part of this glittering future, kelp, seaweed and seagrasses all have amazing characteristics and all capture carbon more efficiently than growing trees.
“All of these projects and concepts can be developed at a commercial scale within the biosphere and from this we can then export the knowledge, skills and delivery aspects to other opportunities across the region and more nationally.”
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