Abstract

BARROQUEIRO, Álvaro António Pinheiro  and  CAEIRO, Sandra Sofia Ferreira da Silva. The conflict in the coastal area of Sines (Portugal): Elements for settlement through dialogue. RGCI [online]. 2016, vol.16, n.1, pp.105-118. ISSN 1646-8872.  https://doi.org/10.5894/rgci675.

Conflicts frequently emerge in border areas between population and industry, often located in coastal regions. The municipality of Sines, in Portugal, with cultural traditions connected to the sea and fishing activities, is a paradigmatic case where this problem has existed for decades. Knowing that dialogue has provided good results in settling neighbourhood conflicts, a study was conducted to characterise its environmental and social aspects and thus contribute to the knowledge of the factors that influence individual attitudes towards the environment, aiming to establish dialogue platforms and environment integration between the population and industry in Sines. A holistic study was carried out, together with a survey of two convenience samples composed of key social players from the local population and industry. Although the obtained results do not confirm any clear situation of pollution in Sines area, it was however found that there exists a conflict between the local population and neighbouring industry, associated with the presence of the port and the industrial site and the resulting hazards for the environment and public health. In this context, it is noted that social space has a modelling effect on individual behaviour, and physical proximity is the main factor in the perception of the risk by local key players from Sines population. It was also noted that the surveyed companies have been integrating principles of social responsibility in their management policies, mainly due to media pressure on the industrial activity, but also due to the environmental accidents which had previously occurred within the area. This study, although exploratory, shows the willingness of the social players in Sines to cooperate in protecting the environment and public health, with benefits resulting from that cooperation. This allows to anticipate success in settling the conflict in Sines through dialogue. There were identified the following fundamental elements to the implementation of dialogue platforms: i) Dissemination of environmental information promotes public participation, ii) Risk perception is influenced by the physical proximity of the sources of environmental and public health degradation, and iii) People exclusion from the decision-making processes causes a breach of trust towards those responsible for environmental management It is concluded that dialogue contributes to the prevention and settlement of conflicts between the population and industry, which usually occur in environmentally sensitive areas such as the coastal regions, through environmental integration and the building of trust at the local level, thus obtaining more solid and legitimate solutions for coastal management project concerns.

Keywords : risk; public participation; perception; citizenship.

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