Belonging to and in the Shale Gas Fields. A Case‐Study of the Noordoostpolder, the Netherlands

Abstract

This article analyses how belonging becomes articulated in relation to large‐scale extractive projects. It does so through an ethnographic analysis of the construction of belonging expressed in languages of valuation (the meanings that people give to natural resources discursively and in practice) in the Noordoostpolder, the Netherlands. Belonging is understood to encompass ‘feeling at home in a place’ and the political processes through which belonging becomes a discursive resource (the politics of belonging). We conclude that the ways people position themselves toward shale gas extraction are both rooted in how they give meaning to and interact with their environment and embedded in local history and ideas of political agency and voice. Only those elements of belonging that are considered objective or useful as a policy solution are used as a discursive resource in mobilisation against shale gas. The article is based on 2,5 years of ethnographic fieldwork.

Just environmental governance for shale gas? Transitioning towards sustainable local regulation of fracking in Spain

“…It is unfair to submit communities to an activity without obtaining informed consent, and also providing fora for consideration of the unique knowledge that these communities hold. As Spain contemplates its fracking future, it would do well to learn from the regulatory and governmental failures in other jurisdictions, such as the aforementioned ineffective approach to public consultation in the Netherlands (Köhne and Rasch 2018, Metze 2018a and the exclusion of relevant stakeholder groups in Poland from decision making processes (Lis 2018, Lis and Stasik 2017, Stasik 2018. In line with the previously cited literature on public participation and engagement, the Spanish Government should seek to develop a robust framework that solicits and accommodates the range of valid and informed perspectives held on this topic.…”

“…In the Netherlands, attempts to involve the broad public in governance backfired on the central government when the public critiqued being only asked how to regulate shale gas development, and not whether to allow it or not (Köhne and Rasch 2018, Metze 2018a. In Poland, similar to the UK, scholars have decried the systematic exclusion of certain populations, including local communities, from meaningful ability to influence decision making and have pointed to the need for and value of novel means of engagement (Lis 2018, Lis and Stasik 2017, Stasik 2018.…”

Is ‘activist’ a dirty word? Place identity, activism and unconventional gas development across three continents

“…Place identity plays an important role in shaping the ways in which people experience existing or possible unconventional gas developments (Seeliger et al 2016, van Veelen & Haggett, 2017. Rural residents often construct place identity through their relationship with the land(scape) itself, and the way that a landscape is perceived and related to is extremely important for whether they will view unconventional gas development as a threat, or a welcome addition (see also Lloyd et al, 2013;Luke & Evensen, 2018, Evensen & Stedman, 2018Köhne & Rasch, 2018). In our case studies, the most important elements of place identity that shaped how people relate to unconventional gas developments were (auto)biographical experiences, relationships with the natural world, and economic factors.…”

“…'The pioneers' were involved in the reclaiming of the land from the sea in the 1930s, an orderly agricultural landscape was created by the first inhabitants of the 'polder' in the early 1940s. The role and substantial achievement of their forefather pioneers is an important shared memory and, as such, has become an important element of people's relationship with the Noordoostpolder landscape (Köhne & Rasch, 2018). Interviewees stated that adding drill rigs to the landscape would be a way of disrespecting this past.…”