Drivers of Land Use Conflicts in Infrastructural Mega Projects in Coastal Areas: A Case Study of Patimban Seaport, Indonesia

Abstract

Coastal areas are particularly sensitive because they are complex, and related land use conflicts are more intense than those in noncoastal areas. In addition to representing a unique encounter of natural and socioeconomic factors, coastal areas have become paradigms of progressive urbanisation and economic development. Our study of the infrastructural mega project of Patimban Seaport in Indonesia explores the factors driving land use changes and the subsequent land use conflicts emerging from large-scale land transformation in the course of seaport development and mega project governance. We utilised interviews and questionnaires to investigate institutional aspects and conflict drivers. Specifically, we retrace and investigate the mechanisms guiding how mega project governance, land use planning, and actual land use interact. Therefore, we observe and analyse where land use conflicts emerge and the roles that a lack of stakeholder interest involvement and tenure-responsive planning take in this process. Our findings reflect how mismanagement and inadequate planning processes lead to market failure, land abandonment and dereliction and how they overburden local communities with the costs of mega projects. Enforcing a stronger coherence between land use planning, participation and land tenure within the land governance process in coastal land use development at all levels and raising the capacity of stakeholders to interfere with governance and planning processes will reduce conflicts and lead to sustainable coastal development in Indonesia.

Modelling past and future land‐use changes from mining, agriculture, industry and biodiversity in a rapidly developing Southeast Asian region

“…Land‐use conflicts occur when there are incompatible interests among stakeholders as a result of development that has conflicting negative effects on the surrounding environment and society (Von Der Dunk et al, 2011). Land‐use conflicts in coastal regions like Kuantan are likely to be high, as mega infrastructure projects will compete with coast‐dependent economic activities like fisheries, tourism and residential development, as well as environmental, agriculture and mining interests (Susman et al, 2021). Such contrasting land uses are key challenges for land‐use planning and decision‐making globally (Everingham et al, 2018; Hilson, 2002; Ocelík et al, 2019).…”

Spatial evaluation and zoning strategy of land use elemental conflicts in heavy industrial zones: evidence from central Liaoning Province in Northeast China

“…The multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) method was used to evaluate land use suitability by integrating multiple given attributes to conduct land use con ict research (Kim and Arnhold, 2018;Zou et al, 2019). Second, from the aspect of in uencing factors, some studies simply start from the conditions of natural and humanistic elements (Yang et (Susman et al, 2021;Liu et al, 2022). Third, some scholars have attempted to measure land use con icts through landscape ecological risk assessment based on the complexity-fragilitydynamics of the land system (Zhou and Peng, 2012), which can be conducted in greater detail at the grid level and exibly combined with land use simulation models.…”

Mitigating Spatial Conflict of Land Use for Sustainable Wetlands Landscape in Li-Xia-River Region of Central Jiangsu, China

“…The list of important wetlands together with their area, soil types, and vegetation are included in the global wetland database [41] and the first global wetland map has been recently published [42]. Although these efforts contribute to global wetland protection, the recession is ongoing [43][44][45].…”