Minerals and Land-Use Planning: Sustainable Narratives and Practices

Dear Colleagues,

An expanding global population and the steady development of novel green technologies require a sustainable supply of mineral raw materials to  facilitate the transition towards sustainable development (SD) (Biermann and Kim, 2020; Rockström et al., 2009). Sustainable land-use and land-use planning along the mining life-cycle play important roles within those debates: while one strand emphasises mineral resource governance (Ayuk et al., 2020; Nickless et al., 2015)  in the context of SD at the international or supra-regional level, with a view on (i) more integrated governance approaches between minerals and land use planning  (Carvalho et al., 2021; Endl et al., 2020; Gugerell et al., 2020) and (ii)  the broader socio-spatial context of land use, minerals and sustainable development (Bebbington and Humphreys Bebbington, 2018; Gustafsson and Scurrah, 2019). The systematic assessment of potential land-use options that serve the demands and aspirations of the local communities, supply a diverse economy with commodities while safeguarding natural resources and ecosystems are central characteristics of land-use planning (Bax et al., 2019; Grêt-Regamey et al., 2017; Tassinari et al., 2013). Scarcity of land, domestic security of supply for certain mineral resources and their location can trigger tensions and conflicts concerning (i) public vs. private interests (e.g., nature protection, watershed protection and company interests),  (ii) traditional primary vs. novel land uses (e.g. small scale agriculture/forestry), (iii) local vs. global interests, or (iv) economic and human captial growth vs. a reduction in absolute consumption and primary material input. Balancing those tensions also embraces balancing social, environmental and economic dimensions from an environmental- and intergenerational justice perspective.

We invite scholars interested in the outlined scope to submit original research articles that engage in-depth with the interdisciplinary driven nature of this topic. We particularly welcome theoretical/conceptual papers and analytical empirical papers or a strong sustainability science background. This issue aims to attract contributions that  (i) debate an integrated perspective on land use by balancing the environmental, social and economic dimensions; (ii) investigate participatory and deliberative approaches to land-use planning dealing with mineral extraction or industrial development related to mineral development/energy transition (e.g., battery, renewable energy production), (iii) discuss the role of safeguarding mineral resources compared to other land-use options (e.g., national interests, balancing diverse and/or conflicting priorities); (iv) examine post-mining land-use in its broader socio-spatial context (e.g., re-use for renewables/food production); (v) debate dimensions of efficient land-use and its environmental, social and economicimpacts (e.g., mining of old mining sites), (vi) critically land-use conflicts related to mineral development or post-mining, (vii) investigate attitudes towards land-use and the public or societal acceptance about certain practices related to mineral land-uses. We welcome contributions from early career researchers and young scholars as well as critical discussions of the matter from a sustainability sciences perspective.

We acknowledge the support of Dipl.-Ing. Marie-Theres Kügerl who helped prepare the summary and will also help solicit papers for this issue.

References:

Ali, S., Giurco, D., Arndt, N., Nickless, E., Brown, G., Demetriades, A., Durrheim, R., Eriquez, M.A., Kinnard, J., Littleboy, A., Meinert, L.D., Oberhänsli, R., Salem, J., Schodde, R., Schneider, G., Vidal, O., Yakovleva, N., 2017. Schodde R , Schneider G , Vidal O , Yakovleva N . Mineral supply for sustainable development requires resource governance . Nature 543, 367–372.

Ayuk, E., Pedro, A.M.A., Ekins, P., United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, International Resource Panel, 2020. Mineral resource governance in the 21st century gearing extractive industries towards sustainable development.

Bax, V., Francesconi, W., Delgado, A., 2019. Land-use conflicts between biodiversity conservation and extractive industries in the Peruvian Andes. Journal of Environmental Management 232, 1028–1036. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.12.016

Bebbington, A., Humphreys Bebbington, D., 2018. Mining, movements and sustainable development: Concepts for a framework. Sustainable Development 26, 441–449. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1888

Biermann, F., Kim, R.E., 2020. The Boundaries of the Planetary Boundary Framework: A Critical Appraisal of Approaches to Define a “Safe Operating Space” for Humanity. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 45, 497–521. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-012320-080337

Carvalho, J., Galos, K., Kot-Niewiadomska, A., Gugerell, K., Raaness, A., Lisboa, V., 2021. A look at European practices for identifying mineral resources that deserve to be safeguarded in land-use planning. Resources Policy 74, 102248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2021.102248

Endl, A., Gottenhuber, S.L., Gugerell, K., 2020. Bridging Policy Streams of Minerals and Land Use Planning: a Conceptualisation and Comparative Analysis of Instruments for Policy Integration in 11 European Member States, in: REAL CORP 2020 - SHAPING URBAN CHANGE. Presented at the REAL CORP, Aachen, pp. 95–105. https://doi.org/978-3-9504173-9-5

Grêt-Regamey, A., Altwegg, J., Sirén, E.A., van Strien, M.J., Weibel, B., 2017. Integrating ecosystem services into spatial planning—A spatial decision support tool. Landsc. Urban Plan. 165, 206–219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2016.05.003

Gugerell, K., Endl, A., Gottenhuber, S.L., Ammerer, G., Berger, G., Tost, M., 2020. Regional implementation of a novel policy approach: The role of minerals safeguarding in land-use planning policy in Austria. The Extractive Industries and Society 7, 87–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2019.10.016

Gustafsson, M.T., Scurrah, M., 2019. Strengthening subnational institutions for sustainable development in resource-rich states: Decentralized land-use planning in Peru. World Dev. 119, 133–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.03.002

Nickless, E., Ali, S., Arndt, N., Brown, G., Demetriades, A., Durrheim, R., Enriquez, M., Giurco, D., Kinnard, J., Littleboy, A., 2015. Resourcing Future Generations: A Global Effort to Meet The World’s Future Needs Head-on. International Union of Geological Sciences.

Rockström, J., Steffen, W., Noone, K., Persson, Å., Chapin, F.S.I., Lambin, E., Lenton, T.M., Scheffer, M., Folke, C., Schellnhuber, H.J., Nykvist, B., de Wit, C.A., Hughes, T., van der Leeuw, S., Rodhe, H., Sörlin, S., Snyder, P.K., Costanza, R., Svedin, U., Falkenmark, M., Karlberg, L., Corell, R.W., Fabry, V.J., Hansen, J., Walker, B., Liverman, D., Richardson, K., Crutzen, P., Foley, J., 2009. Planetary Boundaries: Exploring the Safe Operating Space for Humanity. E&S 14, art32. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-03180-140232

Tassinari, P., Torreggiani, D., Benni, S., 2013. Dealing with agriculture, environment and landscape in spatial planning: A discussion about the Italian case study. Land Use Policy 30, 739–747. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2012.05.014

Dr. Katharina Gugerell
Dr. Gregory Poelzer
Dr. Andreas Endl
Guest Editors

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• land-use
• land-use planning
• mineral resources governance
• land-use conflicts
• participatory planning
• safeguarding
• extractive industries
• sustainability transitions