Regional implementation of a novel policy approach: The role of minerals safeguarding in land-use planning policy in Austria

Abstract

The sustainable supply of raw materials to an expanding global population and rising consumption requires novel governance approaches. Such approaches have recently come to include the topic of ‘minerals safeguarding’. In Austria, the objective of minerals safeguarding has translated into an internationally recognised policy instrument, the Austrian Raw Materials Plan. Our paper investigates how the novel policy approach of safeguarding is translated into provincial and regional land use planning policy in Austria. Following a comparative approach of nine Austrian provinces via document analysis and interviews with policy makers, the analysis indicates diverse forms of implementation: We identify different degrees of uptake and implementation in land use planning policy across goals, instruments and mechanisms. Given the limited amount of research about safeguarding, this paper contributes to a broader understanding of safeguarding practices in public policy (goals, process and instruments), offers insights of’ strong, mixed, and soft’ safeguarding approaches, and provides input for a conceptual model of safeguarding. Our study highlights the importance of political agenda setting for the deployment of land use planning instruments, the need for coordination and communication (between and amongst different levels of government) in the policy process, and a need to assess effectiveness of safeguarding policies.