Paper to be presented at the 2001 Open Meeting of the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental
Change Research Community, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 6-8, 2001.
Coastal zone protection, climate change and socioeconomic dynamics: what
humans value
Volker Linneweber, Immo Fritsche and Gerhard Hartmuth
University of Magdeburg
Abstract
Coastal zone protection is introduced as a delicate topic of man-environment transaction:
Goals like protection of nature, environment and coastal lines (including private or public
properties) may be conflicting or just partly compatible. Complex relations of the elements
become even more complicated, since the involved natural or ecological systems are highly
dynamic, processes are interdependent, and future development includes significant
uncertainties.
Based on the general assumption that social systems involved in decisions and strategies of
coastal zone protection are heterogenous, it is concluded that actors’ perspectives on the
natural environment affected by protection of the coast vary, too. We hence assume that
involved actors show different perceptions and evaluations of costal zone protection
including its consequences for the natural environment. These are considered as being
systematically related to the respective position in the social system interacting with the
natural system.
To test this general assumption and derived hypotheses, an interdisciplinary case study has
been conducted in an area which is highly relevant for coastal zone protection. Caused by its
specific shape, the island Sylt, located in the North Sea close to the Danish-German border, is
highly vulnerable to hydrodynamic impacts, sea level rise, changing weather patterns, and
land use change. Since a relatively natural coastline significantly contributes to the island’s
identity and image, its protection is managed mainly by continuously replacing “lost”
sediments. Strict rules have been established to maintain the protective potential of dunes.
Due to its coastline and natural sandy beach, the island is very attractive for tourism as well
as for permanent housing, especially for wealthy and elderly persons. Real estate prices
represent Germany’s top ranks.
70 subjects have carefully been selected in order to represent the island’s social structure. In
two extended semi-structured interviews per subject, Ss were interviewed on various aspects
of high local concern. The topics addressed include past development, and future of the island
concerning tourism, economy, traffic, nature, environment, coastal zone protection. The
interviews are completely transcribed and coded. The resulting quantitative data set is
analyzed in order to test the hypotheses.
The results contribute in explaining social systems’ dynamics related to the natural
environment. The design of the study indicates that not a generalizing view but
rather a differentiation of “actor-types” is preferred. The core topic “coast zone
protection” has not been insulated but rather been analyzed by framing it repeatedly:
local environmental change has been more (study II) or less (study I) confronted with
regional (increasing storm intensity and frequency) and global environmental
change. Moreover, environmental change has been confronted with regional
socioeconomic development.
Similarities and interpersonal and intergroup differences concerning protection of coastal
zone, nature and environment as well as their interrelations have been identified by analyzing
“social representations” (Moscovici, 1981) of involved actors indicating “what humans
value” (Stern, 1992).