Competing interests in land use and access

The transition to sustainable energy and resource use is a central objective in climate change mitigation and Agenda 2030. This transition generates complex goal conflicts over the use and control of land between different interests and societal groups. On a fundamental level, goal conflicts concern the definition of sustainability, with differing notions of whether, what kind of, how much, and when sustainable change is necessary. However, even when such differences can be bridged, difficult goal conflicts remain. A crucial question is therefore how to govern them.

Examples abound. In Sweden, the demand for minerals crucial to battery production and other green technologies conflicts with indigenous rights and the needs of traditional reindeer keeping. Similar dynamics, albeit with much graver consequences, can be observed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where local populations are exploited for purposes of cobalt and lithium extraction to serve global market demands. Across the globe, the desire for forestry products in many areas of production clashes with the need to preserve forests to protect biodiversity and mitigate global warming. Similarly, urban expansion, wetlands restoration, and efforts to increase food resilience create conflicting interests and pressures on available land. 

Sometimes these conflicts are marked by actors’ intransigence and sense of urgency, setting off zero-sum conflict dynamics and deadlocks. In other cases, extended interaction allows for a degree of compromise and broader inclusivity. At the heart of this issue is the nature of political institutions, or rules of the game, that structure the governance of goal conflicts. 

This initiative will study the governance of political conflicts around land and resource use and control, explicitly connected to sustainable transition. Empirically, it will explore this comparatively both within and across Global North and Global South contexts. Furthermore, it will explore how attempts to govern such goal conflicts are conducted, challenged, reinvented, and made more efficient, democratic and inclusive.