Environmental justice lens as a necessity and an opportunity in relocation: The case of the Noordwaard and the Eferding Basin
Environmental relocation presents a form of risk management that requires organized movement of communities but are complex to carry out and can have inequitable results. A careful examination of the ethical dimensions of relocation from planning to implementation to outcomes offers an avenue for un...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Climate Risk Management |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212096325000543 |
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| author | Chloé ten Brink Idowu Ajibade Caroline Zickgraf |
| author_facet | Chloé ten Brink Idowu Ajibade Caroline Zickgraf |
| author_sort | Chloé ten Brink |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Environmental relocation presents a form of risk management that requires organized movement of communities but are complex to carry out and can have inequitable results. A careful examination of the ethical dimensions of relocation from planning to implementation to outcomes offers an avenue for understanding and addressing potential injustices. Using a deductive environmental justice framework, we analyzed two compensation-based relocations, also understood as buyouts: the 2013 Danube flood relocation in Austria’s Eferding Basin and the Noordwaard de-poldering in the Netherlands’ Room for the River program. We combined document analysis (n = 62) and semi-structured interviews (n = 20) to assess justice concerns, focusing on distributive, procedural, and ecological dimensions. Distributive justice was primarily addressed through financial compensation, offering 100 % market value in the Noordwaard and 80 % in the Eferding Basin, but non-monetary considerations were relatively neglected. Procedural justice, particularly transparency and citizen participation, were insufficient. Considerations of ecological justice were absent in the Eferding Basin but the Noordwaard’s use of nature-based solutions and prioritization of spatial quality led to multiple environmental benefits. Overall, this paper argues that justice should not be viewed simply as a criterion to be fulfilled, but rather as a guiding principle for addressing the broader, short and long-term impacts, and well-being related to relocation. By adopting this perspective, justice can be understood as an opportunity for positive transformation, allowing environmental relocation to be framed as a process with the potential for meaningful, beneficial change rather than solely a response to current or future flood risk. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-06a1ccacf81f4b96aaa723cc8e43342f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2212-0963 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Climate Risk Management |
| spelling | doaj-art-06a1ccacf81f4b96aaa723cc8e43342f2025-08-25T04:14:24ZengElsevierClimate Risk Management2212-09632025-01-014910074010.1016/j.crm.2025.100740Environmental justice lens as a necessity and an opportunity in relocation: The case of the Noordwaard and the Eferding BasinChloé ten Brink0Idowu Ajibade1Caroline Zickgraf2Sciences Po Paris, 27 Rue Saint-Guillaume, 75007 Paris, France; Corresponding author.Emory University, 400 Dowman Dr., Atlanta, GA 30322, United StatesUniversity of Liège, Sart-Tilman, 4000 Liège, BelgiumEnvironmental relocation presents a form of risk management that requires organized movement of communities but are complex to carry out and can have inequitable results. A careful examination of the ethical dimensions of relocation from planning to implementation to outcomes offers an avenue for understanding and addressing potential injustices. Using a deductive environmental justice framework, we analyzed two compensation-based relocations, also understood as buyouts: the 2013 Danube flood relocation in Austria’s Eferding Basin and the Noordwaard de-poldering in the Netherlands’ Room for the River program. We combined document analysis (n = 62) and semi-structured interviews (n = 20) to assess justice concerns, focusing on distributive, procedural, and ecological dimensions. Distributive justice was primarily addressed through financial compensation, offering 100 % market value in the Noordwaard and 80 % in the Eferding Basin, but non-monetary considerations were relatively neglected. Procedural justice, particularly transparency and citizen participation, were insufficient. Considerations of ecological justice were absent in the Eferding Basin but the Noordwaard’s use of nature-based solutions and prioritization of spatial quality led to multiple environmental benefits. Overall, this paper argues that justice should not be viewed simply as a criterion to be fulfilled, but rather as a guiding principle for addressing the broader, short and long-term impacts, and well-being related to relocation. By adopting this perspective, justice can be understood as an opportunity for positive transformation, allowing environmental relocation to be framed as a process with the potential for meaningful, beneficial change rather than solely a response to current or future flood risk.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212096325000543Environmental governanceRelocationEnvironmental justiceFlood risk managementBuyouts |
| spellingShingle | Chloé ten Brink Idowu Ajibade Caroline Zickgraf Environmental justice lens as a necessity and an opportunity in relocation: The case of the Noordwaard and the Eferding Basin Climate Risk Management Environmental governance Relocation Environmental justice Flood risk management Buyouts |
| title | Environmental justice lens as a necessity and an opportunity in relocation: The case of the Noordwaard and the Eferding Basin |
| title_full | Environmental justice lens as a necessity and an opportunity in relocation: The case of the Noordwaard and the Eferding Basin |
| title_fullStr | Environmental justice lens as a necessity and an opportunity in relocation: The case of the Noordwaard and the Eferding Basin |
| title_full_unstemmed | Environmental justice lens as a necessity and an opportunity in relocation: The case of the Noordwaard and the Eferding Basin |
| title_short | Environmental justice lens as a necessity and an opportunity in relocation: The case of the Noordwaard and the Eferding Basin |
| title_sort | environmental justice lens as a necessity and an opportunity in relocation the case of the noordwaard and the eferding basin |
| topic | Environmental governance Relocation Environmental justice Flood risk management Buyouts |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212096325000543 |
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