Lindstedt, Nina (2024) Exploring the relevance and perception of non-conventional coastal protection measures to increase coastal resilience at the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea. Master thesis.
|
Text
MasterThesis_LindstedtNina_April2024_DDM-WCM_EIP.pdf Download (4MB) | Preview |
Abstract
In view of climate change, the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea in Germany is facing the challenges of rising sea levels, more frequent and severe extreme events, and increasingly unsustainable engineering coastal protection measures that limit the system's adaptive capacity. More than ever, there is a need for finding new ways of dealing with the coast to enhance coastal resilience, including nature-based solutions, flood-adapted housing and managed retreat. Insights into stakeholder perceptions are essential for planning practice, as they provide an understanding of the complex spectrum of interests, concerns, and values of different stakeholders in which coastal management practices are embedded. Through a combination of literature research, semi-structured interviews including photo elicitation, regional observations and policy document analysis, this master thesis explores the relevance of non-conventional coastal protection measures, how different stakeholders atthe Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea perceive such measures and how they envision a resilient coast. Results reveal a diversity of stakeholder perception, with members of coastal protection authorities tending to favour hard engineering measures for flood protection. Factors such as place attachment and path dependencies do not only influence stakeholder perceptions, but are often in the way of fostering more innovative coastal protection measures. Overcoming these challenges requires open dialogue, strategic visioning, political commitment, integrated management, and the initiation of pioneering projects like the ECOHAL project to demonstrate alternatives to the current path. Such pilot projects and the consensus among stakeholders on the need for mixed, context-specific measures point to an emerging transition towards more diverse and integrated coastal management and planning. This research provides valuable insights into stakeholder perceptions for coastal managers and planners at the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea, thereby significantly enriching the emerging academic field of ocean perception research and underscoring the importance of including social and cultural dimensions into planning practice. In addition, the study advocates for more integrated management and community involvement to develop shared visions for a resilient coast, thereby overcoming the ambiguity of the concept of resilience.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
|---|---|
| Degree programme: | Environmental & Infrastructure Planning |
| Supervisor: | Trell-Zuidema, E.M. |
| Date Deposited: | 18 Apr 2024 12:11 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Apr 2024 12:11 |
| URI: | https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4494 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |