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Background
Golf and Sustainable Development
All people have a right to live, recreate and prosper in a quality environment where:
- There are sufficient natural resources
- Landscapes and cultural heritage are not degraded
- Biodiversity is not continually damaged
- Pollution of air and water is not detrimental to quality of life
This is relevant to the development of golf courses.
New golf course developments should provide a balanced contribution to the protection and enhancement of the environment; to local communities and society as a whole; and to the economy. Golf development must embody the principles of sustainable development, and demonstrate the ability to contribute economically, socially and environmentally.
To do this requires close attention to detail from the earliest stages of project conception, through detailed planning and design, during construction and grow in, and throughout the lifespan of the management of the facility.
Sustainable Golf Courses should address the following issues:
Environmental -
good for society and wildlife
- Conserve and promote biodiversity (key indicator of sustainability)
- Conserve / enhance landscapes
- Retain and link habitats
- Do not pollute (air, water, noise)
- Minimise consumption and waste of natural resources
- Respect culture
Social -
consider the wider community -
- Do not pollute (air, water, noise)
- Avoid / minimise (to a scientifically acceptable level) pressure on potable water
- Integrate with local culture and tradition
- Be sensitive to value of agricultural and community land
- Retain some degree of access to land (exclusivity v's exclusion)
Economic -
contribute to people's prosperity
- Financially viable in the long term
- Do not over-compete with one another
- Provide well paid, long term, skilled employment
- Bring visitor spend out-with resort - ripple effect
- Don't suddenly change in concept or master-plan due to poor market research
- Appropriate level of development for regional / area economy - dependence on one product
Summarised, sustainable golf courses are:
- Well designed, good golf courses that are:
- Environmentally friendly
- Ecologically rich
- Sympathetic landscapes
- Wise utilisation of natural resources
- Integrated into local economy and society
- Efficiently managed and profitable
GOLF DEVELOPMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT
There are many situations where well designed, constructed and managed golf courses can enhance the local environment. There are many examples of this across Europe. These cases show that new golf courses can bring a number of positive environmental outcomes, alongside other social and economic contributions:
- Bringing habitats under long term, consistent conservation management.
- Enhancing biological diversity and species richness.
- Enhancing landscape ecology, creating larger habitat patch sizes with greater connectivity.
- Enhancing landscape character and visual quality.
- Conserving landscapes of cultural and historical importance.
- Conserving archaeological and other cultural heritage features.
- Improving water quality - reducing runoff and leachate of fertilisers and pesticides from previous levels (e.g. agriculture and industry).
- Creating microclimates, shade and increasing soil and air moisture levels in warm climates.
- Acting as 'green lungs' in towns and cities, mitigating air pollution and carbon release.
On the other hand, golf courses sited in inappropriate locations and those designed and built without due regard for environmental factors can have significant negative environmental impacts.
The development of new golf courses has been the primary reason for so many people to be concerned about golf's environmental impacts.
Some problems associated with golf development projects can include:
- Loss of species and habitats.
- Degradation of landscape quality.
- Damage to historical landscapes and cultural heritage features.
- Pressure on water resources.
- Impacts on water quality from siltation, runoff and leachate of fertilisers and pesticides.
- Fragmentation of habitats.
These concerns are combined with other, wider worries about golf development, which include:
- Associated real estate development.
- Pretext for urbanisation, especially so in tourism areas.
- Piecemeal approach to development.
- Inconsistent application of planning regulations.
- Highly variable standards of Environmental Assessment.
- Unpredictable planning outcomes.
This lack of consistency is further exacerbated by the fragmented nature of the golf development sector. While there is some cohesion within the existing golf sector, through governing bodies, national federations and professional associations, the development field is essentially a free for all.
For large numbers of prospective golf projects, the planning process and related environmental and social issues represent a huge learning curve. This increases the risk of mistakes being made that further erode public confidence in the golf sector generally.
This has important environmental consequences. Golf courses can and should be good for the environment. But there is often a thin line between impact and benefit, and it is easy to miss enhancement opportunities.
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