Greening the construction of marine infrastructure: a governance approach

Greening the construction of marine infrastructure: A governance approach

The (re)development of marine infrastructure has consequences for the natural environment. To reduce these impacts innovative approaches to integrate infrastructure construction and nature are being developed.  These new approaches, such as Building with Nature, require alterations in the governance of marine infrastructural projects. The analysis in this thesis focuses on how different governance settings of marine infrastructural projects affect these innovative approaches. Of specific interest are processes of privatization and globalization.

The analysis, guided by the Marine Infrastructural Project Arrangement approach, is based on three marine infrastructural projects: the extension of the port of Rotterdam (Second Maasvlakte), the deepening of the entrance channels of the port of Melbourne and the construction of a cruise terminal in Jamaica.

A main conclusion is that processes of globalization and privatization have resulted in a diversity of project arrangements. A consequence of this diversity is that the applicability of innovative, ecosystem based approaches is dependent on the specific governance setting of the marine infrastructural projects. The case studies indicate that the increasing input of private and global actors, rules, resources and discourses has enabling consequences for the diffusion and acceptance of these innovative approaches.