Public perceptions of beach nourishment and conflict management strategies: A case study of Portonovo Bay in the Adriatic Italian Coast

Conflicting interests, goals, and value often shape the stakeholders' positions concerning coastal erosion management strategies. Analyses of stakeholders' perceptions of beach nourishment and conflict management strategies are lacking. Since the involvement of key stakeholders is crucial to ensure successful integrated coastal management, the aim of the current study was to investigate the stakeholders’ perceptions of beach nourishment and conflict management strategies in the community of the Portonovo Bay in the Adriatic Italian coast. During 2013, detailed, semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of the community and stakeholders regarding beach nourishment and related conflict management strategies at Portonovo Bay. The results revealed that respondents not only reported different perceptions, values, and interests but also their main goals were dissimilar. We found polarized opinions concerning antagonistic value systems shared by the participants, which were associated with quite opposed perceptions of existence and severity of the problem and efficacy and harmfulness of beach nourishment. The perceptions of the respondents were categorized into two major categories that reflect two of the philosophical views of the human-environment relationship: ecocentrism versus anthropocentrism. Four categories of proposed conflict resolution strategies were identified: (a) information, (b) dialogue and contact, (c) compromise, and (d) no solution. The adoption of a participatory approach and the implementation of conflict management skills and technique can be considered important elements of coastal management.     

Stakeholder perceptions and governance challenges in urban protected area management: The case of the Las Piñas – Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area,Philippines

The conservation and management of protected areas in urban settings has become increasingly challenging with dynamics over land use change in adjacent urban areas being highly relevant to, but at times conflicting with, the protected area. This study seeks to better understand the implications of land use change processes to urban protected area management through the case study of the Las Piñas – Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA) in Metro Manila, Philippines. Factors and processes influencing land use change and protected area management and the impact of stakeholders’ perceptions on protected area were analyzed. The urban protected area in itself has limited influence on its surrounding urban areas, as land use change in these areas is shaped more by social, economic and policy/institutional factors occurring within the context of urban-regional development. The study also found that land use conflict is evident in an urban protected area due to the competing ecosystem services derived by various stakeholders. This discord is deepened by the lack of coordination between land use planning and protected area management. Integrating protected area management with land use planning through legally binding instruments, specific timeframes and clear internal procedures can help resolve land use conflict for an urban protected area at the strategic or policy level.     

Conflicts over Locally Unwanted Land Uses (LULUs): Reasons and solutions for case studies in Izmir (Turkey)

Land use planning affects many different and usually conflicting interests. While every land use planning decision has a potential of creating conflicts, Locally Unwanted Land Uses (LULUs) are the most conflict facing subjects in urban land use planning processes. This paper aims to answer the question “what are the reasons and solutions for conflicts in the planning processes of LULUs”. This paper is based on a research examining LULU cases in İzmir, Turkey including solid waste facilities, fisheries and quarries to find out the reasons and the solutions for LULU conflicts. The research findings suggest that the conflicts stem not only from negative effects of LULUs on environment and community but also from procedural deficiencies such as lack of knowledge and lack of trust. The findings also call for planning processes with more consideration of local level and public participation seeking for consensus. Meanwhile, the conclusions underline the limitations for the success of participatory processes in which conflicts are resolved with attempts including symbolic benefits rather than considering exact interests of local people.     

土地利用总体规划修编指标利益冲突问题研究

研究目的：分析规划修编中,中央和地方、地方和地方之间在确定规划指标时利益冲突的成因和表现形式。研究方法：文献资料法,博弈分析法。研究结果：中央政府和地方政府土地利用追求目标上的差异是导致规划指标分解过程中产生冲突的主要原因。政府之间信息不对称是造成指标分解冲突的重要原因。研究结论：整合中央和地方的利益、实行参与式规划,做好规划修编过程中的上下结合,减少冲突,使得各项指标的确定能够有利于协调区域发展,并得到各地区的认同。     

Understanding bioenergy conflicts: Case of a jatropha project in Kenya's Tana Delta

In recent years, conflicts related to tenure, management and utilization of natural resources, in particular bioenergy conflicts, are becoming increasingly common. Many bioenergy conflicts are related to plantation projects seeking to capitalize on the opportunity to profit from a combination of factors, centred on the enabling environment for biofuel plantation establishment found in many developing countries. This study analyses these and other related issues in a conflict in the Tana Delta in Kenya. The conflict is centred on a proposed 65,000 ha Jatropha curcas plantation for biodiesel by the Canadian company Bedford. Ethical Analysis, a conflict management and research tool, was employed to better understand the underlying conflict causes. Shortcomings in the technical feasibility studies and participatory planning processes were revealed, including a poor understanding of the different interests and values with regard to land tenure and traditional rights. While the adoption of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is proposed, also capacities and the regulatory framework need to be strengthened to improve transparency, coordination, impact assessment and investment security. The study proposes ways to manage the ongoing conflict and discusses its implications for bioenergy governance.     

Participation in the implementation of Natura 2000: A comparative study of six EU member states

The establishment of Natura 2000, the European Union’s network of protected areas, has been a challenging process and has caused a variety of conflicts. These conflicts are related to contradictory stakeholder interests and perceptions, as well as to procedural issues and feelings of exclusion, especially by concerned local land user groups. To prevent further conflict, local participation has been stressed as an important tool to increase the inclusiveness of Natura 2000 and its acceptance among land users. In this paper, we present an analysis of participation practices related to the Natura 2000 implementation processes in six EU member states. Based on material collected from semi-structured interviews and document analysis, we describe the organisational settings of the participatory processes, focusing, among other things, on the type of participants involved, the level and intensity of their involvement, and the goal of participation. In addition, we also describe the local context in which the participation processes have been embedded. Finally, we assess the outcomes of the participatory processes in terms of their impact on forest and nature conservation management practices. Our results show that local participation practices were shaped not just by the Natura 2000 policy, but also by the history of the area, including, for example, earlier conflicts among the local actors. We also show that although the participation process leads to a greater acceptance of the Natura 2000 policy, this does not relate to significant changes in management practices among local actors. These findings, however, do not suggest that participation is irrelevant. Rather, we conclude that participation involves context-dependent, localised learning processes that can only be understood by taking the historical socio-economic and institutional context in which they are situated into account.     

An assessment of stakeholders’ participation in land use planning process of Luapula Province Planning Authority

The legal framework of Zambia has laws that support participatory land use planning process but there are no guidelines on how it should be done. Thus, the research aims at assessing if the Luapula Province Planning Authority (LPPA) has a land use planning process that incorporates effective stakeholders’ participation.The research is based on secondary data, especially the land use planning process in the Urban and Regional Planning (URP) Act No. 3 of 2015 of the Laws of Zambia and the participatory land use planning process of Kilimanjaro Region.The data analysed show that there is lack of effective stakeholders’ participation in the LPPA land use planning process; the LPPA land use planning process does not have the provision to capacity build stakeholders during the land use planning process; lack of participatory land use planning guidelines; the institutional framework under customary authority is not part of the land use planning process and the LPPA land use planning process is a top-down approach.The conclusions state that the legal and institutional frameworks in existence are inadequate for effective stakeholders’ participation in land use planning process of LPPA. In addition, the stakeholders are not incorporated in the LPPA land use planning process in terms of decision making but incorporated as reactants to the decisions made by the public authorities.The recommendations are that a National Land Use Planning Commission composed of representatives from stakeholder groups needs to be established. In addition, some sections of the URP Act No. 3 of 2015 of the Laws of Zambia need amendment inorder to have continuous feedback between the land use plan makers (planning firm(s) and planning authority) and the stakeholders. Furthermore, Village Councils must be given power to make decision by establishing them as Village Planning Authorities.     

How feasible is regional integration for reconciling land use conflicts across the urban–rural interface? Evidence from Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei metropolitan region in China

Competition among different uses for land is becoming acute under the process of urbanization, and conflicts related to this competition are becoming more frequent and more complex. This article presents a methodology for confronting this issue. By applying an integrated framework, we explore the implicit role of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Regional Integration (BRI) policy in land use conflicts by focusing on the urban-rural interface, and try to address the research question: “How feasible is BRI for reconciling land use conflicts across the urban-rural interface?” An original structure of the analysis is developed based on the identification of three types of conflicts, namely, conflicts over land use structure, conflicts over land conversion and conflicts over landscape pattern. According to the interactions and relationships among these conflicts, we define broad categories of land use conflict areas. Indeed, these conflicts are all related to the unplanned use of agricultural land reserves, which competes with other more immediate uses, and the over-exploitation of land resources caused by unsustainable urban practices. This policy is clearly a critical objective for optimizing the land use structure. It, however, fails to reconcile the conflicts over land conversion and landscape pattern, especially for considerable agricultural land conversion to non-agricultural uses, and low-density development pattern with mixed residential and industrial land uses. Hence, alternative strategies involving public participation, spatial equity, rural revitalization, land-use system reform, and new type of urbanization, can be identified as viable solutions for land use conflict management, which may be complementary to regional integration. The findings of our paper may also contribute to the policy debate on BRI concerning land use planning and regional sustainability.     

Land-use conflicts in coastal tourism and the quest for governance innovations

Based on media content analysis this study examines 213 land-use conflicts in Danish coastal tourism to understand the formats of land-use struggles and the methods used to manifest discontent. It contributes to emerging, but still under-investigated risks of overtourism and spatial degradation and it addresses who is active in conflicts, with what means they communicate, and with what results. A typology of issues that kick off conflict includes “Construction and rebuilding”, Change in land-use”, “Infrastructure alteration”, “Illegal activity”, “Landscape modification”, “Climate change” and “Access permission”. These are issues raised most frequently by neighboring residents and holiday home owners, followed by nature associations and public authorities. Institutionalized channels of complaint are most often used, while more radical forms, such as demonstrations, protest movements and vandalism, are rare. However, successful multi-modal campaigns and national energy planning are affected by tourism-related protests. Overall, the Danish planning system proves capable of accommodating most tensions, and the settled power balance in the planning systems largely continues, although planning is a target for remonstration and activism. The article discusses the participatory deficits observed. It informs protesters and government bodies alike, and contributes to the ongoing scholarly discussions about the nature of spatial development.     

Territorialising REDD+: Conflicts over market-based forest conservation in Lindi,Tanzania

In this paper we use the lens of political ecology to shed light on the causes and effects of pro-poor REDD+ induced land use conflicts. We build our study on recent theoretical work on territorialisation in nature conservation to analyse the conflicts and outcomes of the TFCG/Mjumita REDD+ project in Lindi, Tanzania. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork in two case study villages we argue that conservation organisations increasingly make use of participatory tools, FPIC procedures and good governance principles to include local populations in the creation of what we call market-based conservation territories (MBCT). In contrast to project developer’s claims of win–win benefits, we highlight the mixed outcomes of MBCTs and argue that their performance-driven nature and reliance on formal governance arrangements lead to the enclosure of common forests. This inevitably causes conflicts between and within villages over the meaning, ownership and access to forest resources, especially given the importance of customary relations in tropical rural contexts. We argue that despite the extensive community engagement strategy and genuine pro-poor approach of the REDD+ project, project proponents were unable to prevent land use conflicts and risks of economic and physical displacement. The specific social, economic and political conditions shaped the implementation of the project which led to negative consequences to some stakeholders despite genuinely noble intentions. Therefore, we argue that in order to achieve more positive results when creating MBCT, project developers must better acknowledge the inherent trade-offs of markets in conservation and take the limitations and realities of local governance context better into account. We suggest a more explicit assessment of social and environmental justice in the project and more context-specific efforts to prevent social harm from conservation. Theoretically, our study contributes to a better understanding of territorialisation processes under the current trend of market-based conservation.     

Assessment of implementation of protection of mineral deposits in spatial planning in Poland

A complex of raw materials available in a given commune shapes its functional − spatial structure and affects local economic development. The use of the resource base of minerals depends largely on the management of the space and respecting the zoning restrictions connected with protection of mineral deposits. The urgent need to protect them is due to their non-renewable nature and progressive development of the land. Preserving access to deposits is essential to ensure future mineral supply necessary for the economic development. This article presents the results of the assessment of implementation of rules of protection of mineral deposits in spatial planning at the level of territorial units in Poland.The study has been conducted in twenty-three communes of the Lesser Poland voivodeship, for thirty-one unexploited mineral deposits designated for protection in the Spatial Development Plan of the Lesser Poland (Małopolskie) Voivodeship of 2003. In the study of conflict with development of the selected mineral deposits with the environment, factors related to land use, forms of nature protection, water conservation and planned land development have been evaluated. The assessment has taken into account the importance of individual factors of conflict by giving them weights by means of pairwise comparison method. Five classes of conflict of the deposit management have been proposed: non-conflicting deposit, small conflict, medium conflict, major conflict and very big conflict. Almost equal numbers of deposits (9) belong to the class characterized by a of medium, small and large conflicts. Road and technical projects as well as expected significant impact of exploitation on the environment restrain exploitation. The impact is related to the necessity of use of explosives during the exploitation and by the cumulative effect of the mining activity already existing nearby. Analysis of the planning documents of the communes has shown both inadequate protection of mineral resources, including designation of areas of deposits for single-family housing, and a few examples of properly maintained spatial planning in the field of protection of mineral deposits. Information obtained from the environmental survey has been supplemented by assessment of the social aspect. In nine communes it has been determined that the areas of mineral deposits are not subject to spatial conflicts but in seven communes there is opposite situation. The most important benefits from the mineral exploitation which has been indicated in the studied documents included: jobs, access to construction materials and development of the commune.Present work allowed to define the areas and the scale of conflicts induced by development of mineral deposits and to propose measures for rational management of mineral resources. Recognition of the existing and potential conflicts can help to make the right decisions concerning development of the area and minimising impacts of exploitation of the mineral deposits.     

Changing land use in the countryside: Stakeholders’ perception of the ongoing rural planning processes in Flanders

Rural areas in densely populated regions face increasing competition for land. Consequently, land use planning processes must attempt to balance the goals of diverse stakeholders and the process of reaching consensus becomes more complicated. By investigating the perception of the actors involved in rural planning, this research contributes to the knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of such processes. We have focused on the case of rural planning processes in Flanders in which proponents of nature and agriculture are competing for land. Data are collected through open interviews with key actors such as farmers, representatives of nature preservation organisations, farmers’ unions, and employees of the relevant governmental policy areas. Data analysis according to the grounded theory approach resulted in six categories and 26 concepts that represent the stakeholders’ perception of difficulties in the Flemish rural planning approach. Three points where difficulties arise are (1) the link between envisioning, drawing up the plan and implementation, (2) the need for data, and (3) the role of sectors. We use three concepts from literature (procedural justice, distributive justice and value conflicts) to frame the difficulties observed. Based on this analysis, we discuss several ways to improve rural planning processes.     

Local participation in cultural landscape maintenance: Lessons from Sweden

Local participation has evolved as a strategy in the conservation and maintenance of biological and cultural values in cultural landscapes. The meaning(s) of the concept, however, are fuzzy, and conditions for fruitful implementation have only been investigated to a limited extent. In this article, a couple of Swedish cases serve as points of departure for a better understanding of the prerequisites and critical aspects as regards an increased local involvement in landscape management. A review of research on community participation reveals some essential aspects; power relations, participants, the institutional framework, organisation, communication, knowledge building, monitoring and contextual factors. These aspects have formed the structure for the analysis of two cases within which local involvement is considered successful; Southern Öland, where community involvement in seminatural grassland management has been experienced in LIFE-projects and in the process of becoming a UNESCO World heritage site, and Mälarhagar, an integrated restoration and beef production project carried out in close collaboration with farmers. The results are discussed in terms of successful ingredients, counterproductive aspects and operational difficulties. The findings show that trust, communication and local influence are vital ingredients in a participatory approach. Communication and co-management are pointed out as central areas of competence for executives working with landscape management and planning. There are, however, collisions between directives concerning nature conservation and directives concerning public participation. For successful local involvement, the subject for collaboration has to be broadly defined. Furthermore, the strong emphasis on collaboration in participatory approaches demands that democratic aspects have to be considered.     

Assessing multiple approaches for modelling land-use conflict potential from participatory mapping data

Spatial social data collected through participatory mapping are increasingly used to assess social dimensions for land use planning and management. However, there has been limited research to evaluate alternative approaches to identify potential land-use conflict. Using data from Queensland, Australia, we applied multiple approaches (land-use preferences, weighted preferences, combined place values and land-use preferences, and value compatibility scoring to identify land-use conflict potential and to assess these methods for four different land uses (residential development, tourism development, mining, and conservation). The performance of these approaches were evaluated using selected reference sites in the study area to determine which spatial attributes and methods were most predictive of conflict potential. Weighted preferences, and combined place values and land-use preferences were most effective for all land use types. The conflict mapping results for mining and conservation were sensitive to the number of place value and land-use preference points available for analysis and the number of individuals participating in the mapping process. To determine the inferential quality of conflict mapping results, we operationalised confidence levels based on the number of unique participants that mapped preferences in a given location. Overall, the highest confidence in mapped results was observed for tourism development, followed by mining, conservation, and residential development. Confidence levels varied across the study area and by reference sites. The findings of this study increase the external validity of preference-based conflict mapping methods while demonstrating a means to assess the inferential quality of conflict mapping results. The generation of confidence levels can assist in the prioritization and allocation of planning resources to places with both high conflict potential and high confidence.     

Environmental policy integration: Towards a communicative approach in integrating nature conservation and urban planning in Bulgaria

As urban areas continue to expand, the need to consider nature conservation objectives in planning is growing. Policy makers across Europe recognize that effective nature conservation requires an integrated approach to land use planning that includes relevant ecological and spatial knowledge. Although a number of such integrated approaches have been developed, many local authorities in Europe encounter important institutional barriers to this integration. This is particularly true for countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) like Bulgaria. The post-socialist transformation in Bulgaria led to intensified urban growth and local authorities struggle to find a balance between environmental and socio-economic interests. Meanwhile, the Environmental Policy Integration ‘principle’ (EPI) has been gaining prominence in Europe, aiming to address the trade-offs between environmental and economic incentives. Research highlights that successful EPI depends on institutional processes within different economic sectors and across governmental scales. These processes have not yet been comprehensively studied in the CEE and in Bulgaria. This article assesses the EPI process in urban planning in Bulgaria and identifies the institutional approaches that may contribute best to EPI in urban planning. Using the example of the “Corner Land” project in the city of Burgas, we discuss the key challenges that the local authorities face in addressing nature conservation in land use plans. The findings indicate that EPI is to a high degree constrained by the lack of an efficient communicative process across fragmented organizational structures throughout the entire planning process. While a procedural approach to EPI appears to be prevalent it is concluded that a communicative approach is urgently needed if the sustainability of urban plans is to be safeguarded and negative impacts on nature prevented.     

社区林业的基点——需求、冲突和冲突的协调

社区林业植根于社会学、经济学、生态学和管理学;依托的理论工具主要基于参与式发展理论、利益相关者分析、社会阶层分析和社会性别分析。本文在分析了社区林业的基本理论的基础上,认为社区林业理论建立在三个基点上:需求、冲突和冲突的协调。作者阐述了经营主体和主要利益相关者需求,他们之间可能发生的冲突;冲突的形式、原因,并探究协调或化解冲突的对策。     

UTILITARIAN AND RIGHTS-BASED ALTERNATIVES FOR PROTECTING SITES OF SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC INTEREST

Current legislation in Great Britain has set up a class of protected land under the designation Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). However, what values are to be protected, and how, are questions largely left unanswered. Areas which are designated as worthy of protection can still be threatened by gradual erosion due to rural development. The designation of a site as being of conservation value requires an agency which enforces protection from development. We highlight the conflicts which have arisen between landowners and conservationists over SSSI management and analyse the role of a conservation agency under alternative environmental philosophies. We show how the values underlying the motive for conservation will affect the environmental management process chosen. This provides contrasting views as to the future for countryside management, and focuses concern on the current trend towards the free market in which trade-offs based upon the anthropocentric usefulness of nature are fundamental.     

The ‘squeezed middle’: Identifying and addressing conflicting demands on intermediate quality farmland in Scotland

The growing demand for a wide range of private and public goods and services from a finite land resource is increasingly challenging for planners at local, regional, national and international scales. The Scottish Government's development of a Land Use Strategy has given salience to resolving conflicts and enhancing synergies in land use. In Scotland, the poorest quality farmland is often designated for nature and landscape conservation and the highest quality farmland often protected for food production. This means that many of the competitive pressures on land are experienced in what we term the ‘squeezed middle’. The paper identifies the multiple (and not exclusively economic) drivers of land use choices and, through an ecosystem services lens, explores three particular areas of land use conflict. These are (i) the continued high level of public support for farming, which has done little to address the problem of low farm incomes; (ii) the pressure to increase woodland planting on farm (and other) land; and (iii) conflicts associated with intensive game management, especially on sporting estates. Using the Scottish situation as an example, the heterogeneity of land use pressures means that there is a danger of the principles of the Land Use Strategy becoming lost in translation from national policy to practical land use decision-making. The appropriate scale for delivery of integrated ecosystem services may therefore be more local than current pilot projects, and may require more active participation of land managers. It may also require policy instruments that are more flexible in adapting to the local context, including payments for ecosystem services.     

Evolving national park models: The emergence of an economic imperative and its effect on the contested nature of the ‘national’ park concept in Northern Ireland

National park models have evolved in tandem with the emergence of a multifunctional countryside. Sustainable development has been added to the traditional twin aims of conservation and recreation. This is typified by recent national park designations, such as the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland. A proposed Mournes national park in Northern Ireland has evolved a stage further with a model of national park to deliver national economic goals envisaged by government. This seeks to commodify the natural landscape. This paper compares Cairngorm and Mourne stakeholders’ views on the principal features of both models: park aims, management structures and planning functions. While Cairngorm stakeholders were largely positive from the outset, the model of national park introduced is not without criticism. Conversely, Mourne stakeholders have adopted an anti-national park stance. Nevertheless, the model of national park proposed possessing a strong economic imperative, an absence of the Sandford Principle as a means to manage likely conflicts, and lacking any planning powers in its own right, may still be insufficient to bring about widespread support for a Mourne national park. Such a model is also likely to accelerate the degradation of the Mourne landscape. Competing national identities (British and Irish) provide an additional dimension to the national park debate in Northern Ireland. Deep ideological cleavages are capable of derailing the introduction of a national park irrespective of the model proposed. In Northern Ireland the national park debate is not only about reconciling environmental and economic interests but also political and ethno-national differences.     

MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS: A TOOL FOR CONSERVATION

Multiple land use management for agriculture, conservation and other objectives is a generally accepted goal. Where land use change is economically beneficial to the landowner and damages conservation values, conflicts arise. Management agreements are one means of resolving such conflicts but they must be set within a better development, policy, information and management framework. Land acquisition by conservation bodies and tax exemptions are alternative means of achieving the same objectives. Few management agreements have yet been negotiated but the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 gives them a central place in resolving such conflicts in the future. Devising equitable methods of financial compensation will be the key to the success of management agreements in resolving land use conflicts.