Challenges for social impact assessment in coastal regions: A case study of the Tomakomai CCS Demonstration Project

Mabon, Leslie; Kita, Jun and Xue, Ziqiu (2017). Challenges for social impact assessment in coastal regions: A case study of the Tomakomai CCS Demonstration Project. Marine Policy, 83 pp. 243–251.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2017.06.015

Abstract

This paper assesses challenges for social impact assessment (SIA) for coastal and offshore infrastructure projects, using the case study of the Tomakomai Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Demonstration Project in Hokkaido, Japan. Interest in SIA and linked concepts such as social licence to operate is growing, yet marine environments also have potential to raise additional complexity in project governance. Drawing on qualitative research conducted in Tomakomai and Japan more widely across the project development and implementation phase, the paper argues that building an understanding of the social, cultural and historical relationship between the community, industry and the sea is crucial to understanding the neutral or cautiously supportive response of the citizens and stakeholders in Tomakomai to the project. Moreover, effective SIA in coastal regions needs to find a way to account for – or at least make visible – these complex relations between society and the sea. Based on the findings, it is suggested that developers or policymakers overseeing SIA in coastal regions ought to pay extra attention to the extent to which developments like CCS are viewed by communities as 'new' as opposed to a continuation of existing activities in the sea; to the importance of engagement on monitoring during the project operations phase; and to the non-economic values such as pride and identity which communities and stakeholders may derive from the sea.

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About

• Item ORO ID
• 77972
• Item Type
• Journal Item
• ISSN
• 0308-597X
• Project Funding Details

• Funded Project Name	Project ID	Funding Body
  International Research Collaboration Fund	Not Set	UK CCS Research Centre
  Japan Foundation Fellowship	Not Set	Not Set
  Early Career Grant	Not Set	Regional Studies Association

• Keywords
• Carbon dioxide capture and storage; Coastal communities; Social impact assessment; Social licence to operate; Tomakomai CCS Demonstration Project
• Academic Unit or School
• Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) > Engineering and Innovation
  Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
• Copyright Holders
• © 2017 Elsevier Ltd.
• Related URLs
• • https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/out...(Other)
• Depositing User
• Leslie Mabon