Publications
Following publications have been announced by our department Human Dimensions of Coastal Areas. For further information please contact the marked co-authors of the publications:
Breckwoldt, A., Ratter, B., Wang, W.-C., & von Storch, H. (2023): Editorial: Fishing for human perceptions in coastal and island marine resource use systems, volume II. Front. Mar. Sci. 10:1334086, doi:10.3389/fmars.2023.1334086
Excerpt from the editorial:
This Research Topic is the second volume or Relaunch of “Fishing for human perceptions in coastal and island marine resource use systems”, which can be found here. As human perceptions, decision-making and (pro-) environmental behaviour are closely connected, there continues to be an increasing interest for research evolving around perception studies, and how their use and value in academia, research and decision-making can be improved by stronger multilateral acknowledgement and tailored integration.
The 14 articles of Volume 1 have so far received 95,909 total views, and the articles were downloaded 14,854 times so far (accessed on 06/10/2023), clearly showing the academic interest in and importance of this research field of environmental (and in this case coastal and marine) perceptions. From this first assemblage, the Volume 2 Research Topic Relaunch continues to re-unite perceptions and behaviour in coastal resource use systems, in a short time accumulating 17 authors with four articles, viewed roughly 8,5k times and downloaded more than 1000 times (accessed on 06/10/2023). With increasing acknowledgement of the importance of participatory approaches for individual and collective agency and social equity in marine resource use and governance (e.g. related to the ‘30 by 30’ target), the inter- and transdisciplinary international research community keeps growing. The interests encompass research which integrates perceptions of local residents, local and regional stakeholder groups, as well as resource and environmental managers and decision-makers. By acknowledging the importance of the individual perspective and interest-led personal views, it becomes increasingly obvious how valuable and critical these sources of information are for coastal research and sustainability considerations and transformations. An increase of research effort spent on the connection between perceptions and behaviour in marine resource use systems, therefore, continues to be both timely and needed. The submissions for Volume 2 of this Research Topic were welcomed from all disciplines, presenting inclusive inter- and transdisciplinary approaches. The Relaunch’s contributors were free to explore global, regional or local multi-level examples and discourses from the individual resource-user level to the decision-making level.
Stalmokaitė, I., Tafon, R., Saunders, F., Gee, K., Gilek, M., Armoškaitė, A., Ikauniece, A., Matczak, M., Turski, J., & Zaucha, J. (2023): Exploring social justice in marine spatial planning: planner and stakeholder perspectives and experiences in the Baltic Sea Region. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, doi:10.1080/09640568.2023.2279512
Abstract:
This article contributes to the increasing traction of social justice in marine spatial planning (MSP) by exploring perceptions and experiences of social justice from the viewpoint of planners and different social groups who were included and (self)excluded in MSP processes. The study builds on empirical material from Poland, Latvia, and Germany consisting of interviews, MSP legislation, and documents that were analysed through the lens of a multidimensional social justice framework centring on recognition, representation, distribution, and capabilities. Results indicate that MSP institutional arrangements constrain possibilities for marginalised and less consolidated actor groups (residents, coastal tourism, and small-scale fisheries) to enjoy the same degree of recognition that is given to groups representing strategic national interests (renewable energy and shipping). We also highlight the role of planners’ self-reflectivity in enhancing/depriving capabilities of vulnerable social groups whose wellbeing and multidimensional relationships with the sea call for institutional responses adaptive to specific planning contexts.
Tafon, R., Armoskaite, A., Gee, K., Gilek, M., Ikauniece, A., & Saunders, F. (2023): Mainstreaming coastally just and equitable marine spatial planning: Planner and stakeholder experiences and perspectives on participation in Latvia. Ocean & Coastal Management, Volume 242, 106681, doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2023.106681
Abstract:
Community participation and influence are vitally important for meeting the multidimensional sustainability aims of marine spatial planning (MSP) and more specifically for procedural and distributive justice. While participation has received substantial research interest, we identify a need to: 1) develop equity-based principles for coastal community participation that can be used to assess and reform MSP practices; 2) generate rich empirical accounts of coastal community participation and representation linked to real-world MSP practices. Here we present the results of a study that synthesizes critical MSP and blue justice scholarship to develop principles and indicators of coastally equitable and just planning. Drawing on interviews with planners and stakeholders and analysis of planning and legal documents, these principles are used to assess participatory processes linked to Latvian MSP practices in the period 2015 to 2019. Our analysis shows that equitable and just MSP needs to be based on participation that is timely, inclusive, supportive & localized, collaborative, methodical and impactful. When applied to the Latvian case these six principles provide a comprehensive and versatile heuristic approach to assess participation in MSP. In the context of Latvian MSP practices, we revealed a fundamental challenge of maintaining inclusive and localized participation throughout the full planning cycle. To counteract the successive narrowing/hardening of participatory space our results indicate a need for continuously promoting diversity of voices and perspectives, opportunities for collaborative sense making, visioning and critique. This will help to bridge diverse MSP divides (e.g., between land and sea, between local, national, and global values and priorities, between science and local knowledge, and between blue growth, conservation, and justice goals). If applied more generally in research and as part of MSP evaluation an equity-based approach can promote the mainstreaming of coastally just and equitable MSP practices. Finally, considering contextual factors (e.g., history, culture, power, legislation) that shape participation and representation is crucial when applying the equity principles to a particular MSP setting to acknowledge and accommodate its particular characteristics and challenges.
