They might try to reason with the objectors, pointing out the local employment benefits, the wealth brought into the region by their link in the logistics chain; they might even mention that the whole reason for the establishment of the town or city had been based upon the port. It will be like water off a duck’s back.
The temptation to retreat behind the dock walls and sulk at this non-co-operative attitude among the locals might be great. But instead, it is worth looking at an annual award offered by the European Sea Ports Organisation, which recognises the value of the “societal integration” between port and its population.
This ESPO competition, now in its 8th year, owes its origins to a book written by the Antwerp based maritime lawyer Eric van Hooydonk, concerned at the open hostilities in his own city around port development plans. “Soft Values of Seaports” was a well-argued strategy for the restoration of public support for seaports and was taken up by ESPO as a basis for its annual award. The award tries to encourage a more mutually positive exchange between a port and the people who live around it, recognising that in the end, no good really comes from a port ignoring the needs of those who don’t actually work in the port estate, and quite obviously, that only benefit comes from co-operation.
There is always a theme for the award, which over the years has looked for societal benefit in areas such as close co-operation, development, the protection and enhancement of heritage assets, education and the promotion of awareness. This year had an environmental theme, “Nature in Ports” and competing ports were invited to tell how the nature and ecosystem of their port was being preserved and upgraded. The winner, announced at a grand ceremony in Brussels this month, was Bremenports, for their huge Luneplatz project, a major long-term compensation scheme alongside the River Weser that has preserved a substantial area for nature, that otherwise might have been swallowed up by industrial development.
The port was the co-ordinator, reconciling all sorts of conflicting demands of industry, agriculture, public access, port development and conservation. There is huge public involvement, along with schemes to get youth on board, while maintaining bio-diversity. The introduction of helpful species such as water buffalo also seemed an imaginative development. Cartagena, Dunkirk, Guadaloupe and Riga were also finalists this year.
The competition is notable in that it attracts entries each year from some of Europe’s biggest ports, but also some of the smallest harbours and the winners have been drawn from all around Europe, regardless of the weight of the investment that has been demonstrated. It is not all about money, but imagination, along with a degree of sincerity and a long term commitment to whatever ESPO suggest as a theme are what makes the difference.
It is a European competition, but the problems which gave rise to its existence are to be found all over the world, whether it is residents of Alaskan cruise ports shouting about disturbances from cruise ships or people complaining about plans to bring ships closer to where they live. The ideas generated by this award, which are published each year by ESPO contain endless ideas about how these sort of conflicts can be defused and prevented, by bringing ports closer to the people who live around them, and giving ordinary people a stake in their local ports. There are ideas here which could be applied with advantage, from Melbourne to Montevideo.
It is worth checking it out. Soft values ought to be universal.
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