Landuse Conflicts and Their Socio-Cultural Management: Arguments, Arrangements, Incentives

Human societies always exist within ecological contexts and use the natural environment for various purposes. Preserving the ability to sustainably use natural resources should be in common interest, not only for today's generation but also, and especially, for future generations. Although this understanding has only recently become a central topic in public discussions, it is now referred to as "sustainable development." 

However, determining what should be in the public’s interest is not always straightforward. The broad public support for nature conservation and environmental protection, which is frequently highlighted in surveys, especially in Germany (a good overview of various studies can be found at www.natursoziologie.de), often masks the fact that nature conservation directly competes with economic exploitation interests when concrete actions are proposed. For instance, conflicts can easily arise when the state attempts to restrict the rights of land or water owners for conservation purposes.

These experiences are common among conservation practitioners and often stem from a basic understanding of use conflicts, especially land-use conflicts (for an introductory perspective aimed at non-social scientists, see Jetzkowitz & Wegmann 2022). It's important to understand how modern societies develop and manage conflicts related to nature and environmental conservation, as well as how they might address these issues in the future. This understanding also helps to grasp the core arguments driving these debates (for a brief overview, see Ott 2019).

Sources

Jetzkowitz, J. & Wegmann, J. (2022): Multifunctionality in Land Use. Forum Wohnen und Stadtentwicklung 3: 131–134.

Ott, K. (2020): Environmental Ethics. Online Encyclopedia Philosophy of Nature. https://doi.org/10.11588/oepn.2020.0.68742. Heidelberg 2020, ISSN 2629-8821.