Henny van der Windt

Managing coastal resources in the 21st century

Coastal ecosystems are increasingly dominated by humans. Consequently, the human dimensions of sustainability science have become an integral part of emerging coastal governance and management practices. But if we are to avoid the harsh lessons of land management, coastal decision makers must recognize that humans are one of the more coastally dependent species in the biosphere. Management responses must therefore confront both the temporal urgency and the very real compromises and sacrifices that will be necessary to achieve a sustainable coastal ecosystem, one that is economically feasible, socially just, and ecologically sound.

Concepts of Nature as Communicative Devices: The Case of Dutch Nature Policy

The recent widespread shift in governance from the state to the market and to civil society, in combination with the simultaneous shift from the national level to supra-national and sub-national levels has led to a significant increase in the numbers of public and private players in nature policy. This in turn has increased the need for a common vocabulary to articulate and communicate views and values concerning nature among various actors acting on different administrative levels. In this article, we will examine the role of concepts of nature as communicative devices in public debates and political decision-making. We try to show that the now dominant functionalist approach to concepts of nature, due to its focus on interests, threatens to narrow public and political communications to purely strategic negotiations. Instead of this functionalist approach we put forward a structuralist approach, which focuses not on interests but on values.

Science Theatre at School: Providing a context to learn about socio‐scientific issues

Science theatre is recognised as a method for teaching socio‐scientific issues (SSI), but is largely under‐researched. The essence of science theatre at school is to shape a contextualisation for science and technology and its relationships to individuals and society at large, with the aim to trigger the imagination, raise questions and stimulate debate among the audience to increase their understanding of the SSI at stake. To further the theoretical basis of science theatre at school, we investigated students’ experiences in coherence with the views from experts about the play’s possibilities and limitations, in the context of a performance about food science and technology. The play dramatised dilemmas that were related to science as a knowledge‐producing process, and through its consumer products. Our study indicated that the societal context for staging science and technology, through consumers’ dilemmas to eat healthy, raised interest among the students to a larger extent than the subject of science and technology per se. According to both students and experts, the level of scientific complexity and the use of caricature to portray scientists may have hampered the possibilities to reach the audience. An alternative to contextualisation on an individualised level is to make scientific controversy and its relationship to various social interests, the heart of the matter. The discussion after the play was considered crucial and appreciated, although the students were critical about the nature of the theses. Exploring the moral positions involved in dilemmas could provide an alternative perspective of understanding to the audience.

Public participation in genomics research in the Netherlands: Validating a measurement scale:

Nowadays, new technologies, like genomics, cannot be developed without the support of the public. However, although interested, the public does not always actively participate in science issues when offered the opportunity via public participation activities. In a study aimed at validating a measurement scale, first, we investigated if public participation existed, and, secondly, we investigated how levels of public participation in genomics research varied among groups. Finally, we studied which factors predicted public participation. Results were based on a questionnaire with four subsamples. Results confirmed, first of all, the internal consistency of the measurement scale to assess levels of public participation. Secondly, the groups differed significantly with regard to their levels of participation in genomics research. Finally, the findings revealed that information-seeking behaviour, knowledge and education were main predictors of public participation, while interest, social involvement, and trust and influence had some influence together with age and gender.

Knocking on Doors: Boundary Objects in Ecological Conservation and Restoration

It is often argued that in the fields of conservation and restoration, research, practice, public perceptions, and societal interests should not only engage one another but also be integrated in order to guarantee success in the long term. Moreover, there is need for concepts and practices that are flexible enough to be acceptable to different parties and still have a common meaning. Such concepts and practices have been labeled “boundary objects.” Here, we describe the concept of “natural limits” and the practice known as the “hands on the tap approach” as successful examples of boundary objects introduced into the discussion of gas exploitation in the Dutch Wadden Sea area. While the concept of natural limits focuses primarily on natural issues, in many restoration projects, societal issues—for example, protection against flooding—are often of at least comparable importance, especially in highly populated areas where many stakeholders are involved. The concept of social limits, on the other hand, refers to widely accepted “limit” values for important societal parameters, for example, safety, agriculture, and recreation. How these “social limits” can be taken into account is discussed in relation to a number of Dutch projects, including dune management, the protection of meadow birds, brook valley restoration, and the introduction of ungulates. Links between social and natural limits in environmental standard setting are addressed along with the issue of communication.

Trade-offs and synergies in joint knowledge creation for coastal management: insights from ecology-oriented sand nourishment in the Netherlands

ABSTRACT In order to successfully inform environmental management, environmental research needs to balance legitimacy, credibility, and salience. This paper aims to identify trade-offs and synergies between these three attributes in collaborative research for environmental management, and draws lessons for organizing such research. Empirically, it draws on a study of a research program on the ecological effects of coastal protection through sand nourishment. Our findings suggest that the legitimacy and salience of knowledge creation, particularly in an interactive governance context, are complementary. At the same time, we found trade-offs between practical relevance and fundamental knowledge creation, as well as between issue diversity and the depth and quality of scientific inquiry. Balancing the legitimacy, credibility, and salience of knowledge may be enabled by interactive knowledge creation involving policy-makers, experts and stakeholders. We conclude that successful management-oriented environmental research, particularly in the case of wicked problems, requires both a careful design of arrangements for stakeholder engagement, and well- established linkages to broader regulatory and institutional contexts.

About Snowy Plovers, Lapwings and Wolves: How to Include Contrasting Visions of Ecologists and Laymen in Decision-Making

The story of the snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) in California as presented by Anita Guerrini (2008; this volume) is an interesting example of nature conservation in practice. The study reveals the problems that arise when different values and interests are involved in decision-making processes concerned with the protection of wild animals and landscapes. It is certainly not the first and only story about the relationship between humans, wild animals and their habitats or ecosystems. For instance, serious problems with the implementation of EU regulations regarding wildlife and nature reserves have been reported in several European countries. During the last decade, this rather strict European nature-conservation legislation has repeatedly caused delays and changes of plans in the construction of roads, harbours and industrial areas. In all these cases, conservationists made use of the new, tough legislation because they were afraid that a unique landscape or a threatened species would be affected by proposed measures such as the building of infrastructure. Sometimes little-known species were involved, such as the rare and tiny Desmoulin’s whorl snail (Vertigo moulinsiana). As a consequence, various other stakeholders strongly opposed this kind of nature conservation. Even major nature conservation organizations feel uncomfortable about the impact of the European legislation. Ironically, the strict legislation has also hindered the sometimes necessary

Agricultural technology: what can environmentalists do?

Technological developments in agriculture greatly influence the character of agriculture, its environmental effects and social conditions for the agricultural community. Environmentalists usually combine a lack of knowledge about specific agricultural technologies with an “anti‐technological” attitude. In this paper the question of whether a more specific and efficient approach to technology is possible, is treated on the basis of a case‐study of the introduction of the milk tank into Dutch dairy‐farming.