Why do we need to change our way of living
As the years pass, the effects of human intervention on the planet start to show themselves more clearly everywhere, most obviously in climate change. A result of this is that society is becoming more aware of sustainability issues, and has been taking the first steps towards transitioning to a sustainable system over the last decade (Pesch).
Why Texel is the perfect location for a living with the sea type of sustainability
‘Sustainability’ is such a broad definition that spans across so many themes it is impossible to work on it without first focusing exclusively on one of these themes. This theme is often chosen based on the characteristics and suitability of the target area. In this research project that is Texel. As it is an island community, water is an important factor, and 64.6% (http://www.texel.incijfers.nl/jive/?report=gemeente_profiel) of the surface area consists of sea. This creates an unique opportunity, which is why the particular aspect of sustainability chosen for this work is water, and then more specifically ‘Living with the sea’. This means that from now on the island will use the sea as a generator of products, energy and other things. This will then form a new system in which the sea plays a large role. In order to create this sustainable system, it’s important to both develop new technologies that take advantage of this resource, and adapt the way the inhabitants of Texel current live and work.
The difference between social, technological, biological systems
As it is not possible to complete this goal without involving both sub-goals. New technologies always exist in a socio-technical system, where both the stakeholders involved, and the pre-existing technologies influence the way it will be used, and indeed if it will be used at all (Borrás). However, in this particular case the situation might be even more complex than that. All these technologies and future visions are strongly rooted in using the sea as a resource for production. This involves the natural and biological system of the whole island, and means that before any strategies can be considered, it is necessary to think of a way to transform not just the socio-technical system, but the biological-socio-technical system of the island.
From niche to wide spread technology
This whole system will have to transform into a newer, more sustainable one. This can only be possible when different actors on several scales all work together on this. However there is no secure way to do this. Pesch (2012) has come up with a transformation strategy which has so far seemed most secure. Most new technologies, when they are first designed, are not immediately spread out into the world. Instead they start as a niche, which is a protected project (grant, other thing), in which the technology can develop. This is actually the current status of the bio-socio-technological transformation. The technology exists, or is at least in a testing phase. However most of these tests happen in isolation, in protected spheres (Willem Brandenburg zeewierfarm). Some particular technologies are further than others, and are already on the next phase. These are called regimes, and it sets up the first rules and sanctions for these technologies.
These standards help reassure people that the new technology is safe to use (Borrás), and then allow these niches to scale up, and spread their knowledge around. This moment is hard to define. By scaling up, the technology becomes available for the greater public, which allows the original stakeholders to gain profit from it, but it also removes the protection the niche afforded it. This consideration means that the niche designation most of the time isn’t removed until the prior, rivaling technologies are failing.
The strategy for Texel is thus taking these niche products and convincing all the stakeholders that they are better than prior technologies.
Agents
This describes the process of transformation, but not who drives this particular transformation. Agents are often stakeholders who are involved in the project in some way. However, a large group of agents who are often overlooked are the future users of the technology (Pesch). They often are an unorganized group from very different areas, and their influence, unlike those of the other stakeholders, is not often very visible, but it definitely is there, and greatly influences the success of the transformation towards a new biological-socio-technological system.