Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning ISSN: 1523-908X (Print) 1522-7200 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cjoe20 Resource Use Conflicts and Urban–Rural Resource Use Dynamics in Swedish Coastal Landscapes: Comparison and Synthesis Olga Stepanova & Karl Bruckmeier To cite this article: Olga Stepanova & Karl Bruckmeier (2013) Resource Use Conflicts and Urban–Rural Resource Use Dynamics in Swedish Coastal Landscapes: Comparison and Synthesis, Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 15:4, 467-492, DOI: 10.1080/1523908X.2013.778173 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2013.778173 Published online: 15 Apr 2013. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 543 View related articles Citing articles: 6 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=cjoe20 Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 2013 Vol. 15, No. 4, 467–492, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2013.778173 Resource Use Conflicts and Urban–Rural Resource Use Dynamics in Swedish Coastal Landscapes: Comparison and Synthesis OLGA STEPANOVA & KARL BRUCKMEIER∗ School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, Boz 700, SE 40530 Gothenburg, Sweden ABSTRACT In European countries, the coasts are areas with high population density, intensive use of marine and terrestrial resources, and rapid urbanization. Coastal develop- ment creates conflicts and further ones are expected through climate change and sea level rise. In this article, the aim is knowledge synthesis for conflict research to support strat- egies for sustainable coastal zone management. For that purpose an interdisciplinary con- ceptual framework is elaborated and applied in exemplary conflict analyses. The framework combines knowledge from different fields of environmental and conflict research. In an analysis of 26 local, non-violent resource use conflicts in the Swedish metropolitan coastal areas of Gothenburg and Malmo¨, the themes of coastal landscape changes, resource management, and conflict analysis are connected in a governance perspective. The data were collected through qualitative, semi-structured interviews and discussions with local stakeholders and experts, document analysis and analysis of articles from local news- papers. The conflict analysis showed the multi-faceted and complex nature of the conflicts. Solutions require interdisciplinary research and knowledge synthesis. Our conclusions relate to the requirements of further development of knowledge integration and approaches to multi-scale environmental governance. KEY WORDS: Coastal conflicts, environmental governance, sustainable develop- ment, coastal landscapes, interdisciplinary conflict analysis 1. Introduction: Resource Use Conflicts in Coastal Areas In this article, we develop a conceptual framework for the interdisciplinary analy- sis of coastal conflicts by combining knowledge from different fields of environ- mental and conflict research to analyse 26 local resource use conflicts on the Swedish West coast. These conflicts result from the interaction of rural and urban areas and resource use in coastal areas, and from global environmental Correspondence Address: Karl Bruckmeier, School of Global Studies, University of Gothen- burg, Box 700, SE 40530 Gothenburg, Sweden. Email: [email protected] # 2013 Taylor & Francis 468 O. Stepanova & K. Bruckmeier change, in particular, climate change and adaptation to sea level rise. The conflict analysis is completed with a discussion of the integration of conflict analysis in strategies for sustainable governance of coastal landscapes. Coastal resource use conflicts are studied in the broad field of environmental conflict research, including, e.g. wind power location conflicts (Jessup, 2010; Oles & Hammarlund, 2011; Solli, 2010) showing the intensified search of offshore sol- utions. Other important coastal conflicts relate to fishery and species protection (Bruckmeier & Ho¨j Larsen, 2008; Varjopuro, 2011), recreational and commercial fisheries (Ngoc & Flaaten, 2010), and pollution (Primavera, 2006). Multi-scale eco- logical distribution conflicts (Martinez-Alier et al., 2010), and conflicts related to climate change (Gleditsch, 2012) show the global connections of local conflicts. Coastal conflict research develops from various disciplines (Stepanova & Bruckmeier, 2013, with a more detailed review). However, the knowledge from the dispersed environmental conflict research is not yet integrated to allow for well-designed interdisciplinary strategies of conflict resolution and resource man- agement. To resolve cross-scale resource use conflicts the knowledge dispersed in political science, sociology, economics, geography, and ecology needs to be com- bined by researchers and resource managers. Additionally, local and experi- ence-based knowledge of resource users and managers is useful for conflict management. Knowledge integration from different fields, as paradigmatically in the frameworks of social–ecological systems (SES), adaptive management or governance, and sustainable resource management (Acheson, 2006; Haberl et al., 2011; Ostrom, 2007, 2009) needs to be improved in coastal management (Blythe & Dadi, 2012; Naylor et al., 2012) and for conflict resolution. Combining conflict research with interdisciplinary landscape research (Daugstad et al., 2007; Ro¨hring & Gailing, 2005; Tress et al., 2007) seems promising for conflict resolution and resource management. Descriptions of landscape change need to be framed in policy and resource governance strategies to become effective for conflict analysis and resolution. Finally, conflict analysis needs to be integrated in broader strat- egies of sustainable resource management (Cumming, 2011; McAlpine et al., 2010). 1.1 The Research Dilemma: Governance of Complex Social–Ecological Systems A consequence of coastal development in Europe was a continuous loss of habi- tats, wetlands, shellfish beds, and other resource systems (Airoldi & Beck, 2007; for similar global trends see the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment reports from 2005). Coastal development implies intensification of human resource use in rural and urban use of water- and land-based resources. The pressures on coastal resource bases through changes from productive use of land and water, e.g. agriculture and fishery, to consumptive use, e.g. recreation, are visible in changes of ecosystem functions and services. The policy of Integrated Coastal Zone Management of the European Union (EU) did not change the pressures sig- nificantly as recent analyses show (Shipman & Stojanovic, 2007). Furthermore, the integration of terrestrial and marine spatial planning is not advanced (Kidd & Ellis, 2012). New forms of coastal conflicts result from the competition of humans with other species for scarce natural resources on European coasts, e.g. the conflicts between fishery and protected species as cormorants and seals ana- lysed in the FRAP project (www.frap-project.net/). Climate change intensifies the coastal resource use problems and creates further conflicts, e.g. through decisions for adaptation to sea level rise (Weinstein et al., 2011, p. 43). Resource use conflicts and urban–rural resource use 469 The options for climate change adaptation are intensively discussed (e.g. Alexan- der et al., 2012 for the retreat option, Kasa et al., 2012), although without sufficient attention to conflicts emerging in these adaptation processes. Conceptual and quantitative models of interacting social and ecological systems can help to reduce the complexity of multi-layered SES to the complex- ity manageable by resource management and planning systems (e.g. Costanza et al., 1990 for coastal systems; Adell, 1999; Pillsbury & Miller, 2008 for inter- action of urban and rural systems; Jansson et al., 2006 for a rural landscape). With empirically grounded multi-tier frameworks as that of Ostrom (2009) for resource use additional factors influencing conflicts and/or their resolution can be identified. Conflicts and policy integration problems appear, e.g. in landscape planning (McAlpine et al., 2010), when traditional coastal and rural production landscapes for fishing and farming change to new leisure landscapes, multi-functional or pro- tected landscapes (Bennett, 1991; de Groot, 2006; Knickel et al., 2009). Methods for valuation of natural resources and ecosystem services to deal with the conflicts and risks in planning and decision-making need to be developed (Chiesura & de Groot, 2003; Hills et al., 2009). The coastal conflicts we studied were often multi-faceted and complex with more than two conflicting issues and actors in conflict, complicated interest structures, and differing perceptions of the conflict. Solutions require interdisciplinary research and knowledge synthesis. With regard to such conflicts, our guiding question is: How to develop through knowl- edge synthesis and exemplary interdisciplinary analysis a composite framework for conflict analysis that can be applied for various kinds of environmental and natural resource use conflicts? 1.2 Interdisciplinary Analysis of Coastal Conflicts: Developing Policy-Related Frameworks The integration of knowledge from different areas of research is more advanced for environmental research (Aronson, 2011) than for conflict research. In a prior paper (Stepanova & Bruckmeier, 2013) we reviewed and discussed critically, coastal and environmental conflict research. Here, this review is complemented with the three additional themes to specify the framework