Framing coastal squeeze: Understanding the integration of mega-nourishment schemes into the Dutch coastal management solutions repertoire

Abstract

Ewert Aukes’ dissertation takes an interpretive perspective to study the meaning-making processes that led to the realization of three Dutch coastal management projects. Coastal management has a long tradition in the Netherlands, which has made it well-known across the globe. Recently, coastal managers have come up with a new alternative to protecting sandy coasts, the mega-nourishment scheme. The three projects studied in the thesis are all subtypes of the mega-nourishment scheme. They are to a different degree innovative in their use of sand as material for nourishing beaches, i.e. applying large amounts of sand to beaches or foreshores to improve coastal protection performance while at the same time increasing potential for economic, recreational and nature development. In-depth, qualitative interviewing was the main source of data in this dissertation. Participants in the projects' decision-making were interviewed to gain insight into the argumentative meaning-making processes associated with the realization of the projects. The empirical work covered in this dissertation reveals different types of policy framing as dominant processes of meaning-making. In one case, policy frames initially limit the convergence of actors over solutions. In another case, a proficient meaning-making actor succeeded in framing its proposal as a solution for different problems at the same time. The results help to understand how coastal management is ‘made’ in the Netherlands. Coastal management is at first sight a technical, perhaps even technocratic policy domain. Nevertheless, meaning-making and framing, specifically, is just as important in this policy domain as it is in others. Besides their value for interpretive studies of coastal management and policy-making in general, the research this dissertation presents also opens up new avenues for practitioners to position themselves in coastal management processes.