Environmental Management of Denbies - Essay Example

An Evaluation of the Environmental Management of Denbies: A Short Report Introduction: Wine in England is either English or British. British is basically using imported raw materials while English is home-grown. Wine use dates back during the Romans' period where private Villas and farms introduced wine from neighbouring Roman held countries such as France's Bordeaux. Natives during that time were not allowed to plant a vineyard but for sacramental purposes, wine was required by churches and monasteries so that there were vineyards on their lands (Denbies, 2007). In 1066, the Norman invasion also paved local wine production as wine was required for Mass, but when King Henry II married Eleanor of Aquitania now known as Bordeaux in 1152, trade links diminished local production (Denbies, 2007). The Black Death of 1348 also served as a setback as many wine estate workers were killed. In the revival of Cardiff castle in 1875, vineyards were re-established and production continued until 1920. Today, some 410 vineyards exists in Britain growing the German Muller Thurgau variety so that by 1995, a total of 7.7 hectolitres were sold equivalent to 4836 million of which English wine accounts to one percent. Denbies, with a vineyard of 265 acres produces about 400,000 bottles of English wine per year making it the largest vineyard in England (Denbies, 2007). Situated at South East England, Denbies is a part of the North Downs with a total land area of 635 acres collectively called as the Denbies estate. Following strict planning permission, the estate's historical landscape has been preserved including use of old name of plantations such as The Dell and maintenance of paths and tracks around and through the estate consisting of seven miles of vineyard trials accessible to the public (Denbies, 2007). This report shall deal with Denbies' environment management program as well as its current wine tourism industry. Culture, tourism and agriculture sectors are all involved in the wine tourism industry but it was emphasised that three sustainability pillars: environment, economy and society must be embodied (Poitras and Geiz, 2006). Likewise, in a broader concept, the four political, economic, sociocultural and ecological pillars are proposed in the context of competitive destinations (Ritchie and Crouch, 2003). Wine tourism has been defined as visits to vineyards, wineries, attending wine festivals, and wine shows for which grape wine tasting as well as experiencing wine production and other attributes of a grape wine region are the prime motivating factors for visitors (Hall and Macionis, 1998). In evaluating the environmental management of Denbies, all of the above shall be incorporated, but most specifically, the environment considerations as well as impact of Denbies' activities with regards to its environment and its surrounding area shall be pointed out in consideration of conserving the natural resource base in wine regions requiring collaboration and sound planning not only by management but by many partners that include the community (Williams and Dossa, 2003). Strengths: Denbies as an environmentally conscious organisation maintain programmes both for the vineyard and the visitor centre. Environmental strengths of Denbies amongst others include: Chemical use is taken into account (selective chemical use). Use of chemical spray is every 28 days cycle- enough to protect the wine against frost damage. No pollution problems around the area. Cork is 100% natural. Recycle its glass and uses virgin glass. Use of preservatives in wine is very minimal. The only waste is from yeast. Chemical store is far away from the vineyard to ensure safety. Does not need to irrigate. Has natural drainage. Offers training for its staff. Very good in health and safety. Does its own plant maintenance. Natural fertilization from pips and skins spread on the vineyard after pressing. Changing to natural gas from diesel. Cardboard recycling for its packaging. Composting grape skin. Using old oaks from barrels. Reuse spray from pesticides. Recycling sprayer-LIPPCO Takes into account risk of fire with dedicated fire officers and fire alarm. Conference facilities. Energy audit of 70,000 kHz/year. Opportunities for local farmers. Promoting local artists in the gallery. Increased visitors to village may increase income for other local business. Industry in keeping with local traditions. Jobs for locals-putting money back into the community. Creating a community space for people to meet. Building development fits in with the surrounding natural area and be governed by strict planning permission. Complaints are taken into account seriously, although they are very few. The centre welcomes wheel chair users, the elderly and visitors from non-English speaking countries. Complaints from the neighbors come from the fun. There are no other complaints Customer relations- The Denbies loyalty card which offers discounts for the wine and restaurant. A comment book is available in the shop in order customers to write their constructive comments. Weaknesses: Although it can be said that Denbies aspires to be ecological and environmentally sound by maintaining strict governed standards, sustainability still demands long term plans, visions and goals that have to be implemented immediately. In this manner the weaknesses of Denbies, environmental or otherwise, includes: Failure to consider effects of future policy decisions. More transport to village increases local pollution and traffic problems. There is little consideration into public transport. Denbies has got 300,000 visitors annually but there lacks visible biosecurity strategy, such as use of signage or interpretation, to prevent visitors walking in vineyards or taking plant material, within the broader context of a biosecurity framework. Denbies has not got an environmental management system (ISO, EMAS). ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 14000, an environmental management standard helps organisations minimize environmental effect of operation caused by adverse changes to air, water or land, comply with applicable local and international laws, regulations and environmentally oriented requirements (ISO, 2007). Complaints come from public or the community due to fun or activities held at the visitor centre of which could be disruptive of the peace and solitude by the adjacent residents. Does not supply overseas. Not selling to overseas may reduce some of their potential market. Heating vines in cold weather. Use of virgin glass. Supply of low paid workers. As indicated, what could be a strength for Denbies could also serve as a weakness. Viticulture or grape growing impacts on the ecology and that wind development and production as well as visitor activities and travel patterns could also affect the environment as a whole. It has always been a challenge to preserve natural resources although it has been indicated that the topsoil at Denbies consists of fertile loam interspersed with flints of sloping chalk ridge containing calcium carbonate. Limestone pore holds water like a sponge essential for plant growth. This, however, does not mean the natural contents of soil, state of water and air as well as the natural environment would not be depleted and affected over use. As already indicated, monoculture or focus on growing grapes for a span of 265 acres as well as wine tourism could pose possible environmental problems such as: the direct removal of existing ecosystems through use of chemical insecticides and fertilizers; the reduction of biodiversity; destruction of soils; pollution of the surface and ground waters with agricultural chemicals; pollution of wetlands and the marine environment with silt and agricultural chemicals; global warming through the loss of trees and generation of methane. The Code of Sustainable Wine Growing developed by the Wine Institute (2002) based in California, however proposed voluntary initiatives to adopt: environmental leadership through protection and conservation of natural resources maintain long-term viability of agricultural lands support the economic and social well-being of staff and employees respect and communicate with neighbours and community members as well as respond to their concerns in a considerate manner; and enhance local communities through job creation, support local business, and actively work on important community issues. Challenges: Likewise, Hillary (2004) posed the following barriers to implementing Eco-management and Audit Scheme (EMAS): Source: Hillary, 2004 Advantages: But these barriers could be addressed and the following benefits could be reaped: Source: Hillary, 2004 Conclusion: Wine tourism and wine production are considered sustainable as these industries were able to maintain competitiveness over time. But ecological and environmental concerns although manageable and properly addressed at the onset of activities and programmes, could only be perceived in a period when life cycles are achieved, of which problems such as those mentioned above would be inevitable. It is therefore necessary that the management of Denbies employ long-term visions, goals and plans anticipating maturity of the wine tourism life cycle in order to properly sustain the environment and the ecological system, of which rewards definitely would be returned back to Denbies. The Code of Sustainable Wine Growing is a start. But as already exercised for ages by farmers, agricultural systems that respect the natural flow of nature's mutual give and take, maintenance of ecological balance, and high regard for the community have far more benefits when taken into account now. References: Denbies (2007). "Student Information Pack." From denbieswineestate.co.uk Hall, M. and Macionis, N. (1998). "Wine tourism in Australia and New Zealand." In Tourism and Recreation in Rural Areas (Butler, Hall and Jenkins, eds). Chichester: Wiley, pp 197-224 Hillary, Ruth (2004). "Environmental management systems and the smaller enterprise." Journal of Cleaner Production 12, 561-569 International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (2007). "ISO 14000 in brief" from iso.org Poitras, Lisa and Geiz, Donald (2006). "Sustainable Wine Tourism: The Host Community Perspective." Journal of Sustainable Tourism 14 (5) 425-448 Ritchie, J and Couch, J. (2003). The Competitive Destination: A Sustainable Tourism Perspective. Wallingford: CABI. Williams, P. and Dossa, K. (2003). "Non-resident wine tourism destinations: An image analysis." International Journal of Wine Marketing 13 (3), 42-60. Wine Institute (2002). Code of Sustainable Winegrowing Practices: Workbook. San Francisco, accessed from wineinstitue.org Read More