TY - THES
TI - From Concerns to Engagement: How experts address citizen concerns about birds through engagement in wind farm projects 
AU - Dossin, B
AB - Onshore wind farms in the Netherlands are increasing. While this provides a renewable energysource, it also has side social and environmental impacts, with impacts on bird populations being oneof the main issues. The public is concerned about bird strikes, habitat loss and bird migration, whichin turn can affect the social acceptance of wind farms. Experts increasingly engage citizens in settingup these wind farm projects in order to remove these concerns. This thesis focuses on how expertsengage with citizen concerns about birds. To answer this question, this thesis used documentationand literature research as well as interviews with experts from energy companies, ecologicalconsultancy firms and governmental organisations. These experts were interviewed as they areinvolved in carrying out wind energy projects. To explore citizen engagement, this thesis focused onthree different engagement modes: information sharing, co-production and citizen science, whichwere chosen based on literature research. The modes of engagement are aimed at different groupsof citizens and include or exclude expert and citizen knowledge in different ways. In practice, it wasfound that information-sharing and co-production were used by experts. Experts most commonlyrelied on information-sharing. Furthermore, they considered citizen science to be not feasible. Thisthesis also shows that wind energy experts generally think citizen engagement has many benefits(including commitment and enriched knowledge) but also has several obstacles (includingknowledge, time and efficiency). This thesis ends with recommendations for experts in practiceincluding experts working with smaller groups, providing accessible materials to citizens, clearlydefining roles, and reaching a broader audience. Further research should focus on digital platforms,the role of local nature organisations and how citizen empowerment programmes can be applied.
DA - 2024/06//
PY - 2024
PB - Wageningen University and Research Centre
UR - https://edepot.wur.nl/660545
LA - English
M3 - Master's Thesis
KW - Wind Energy
KW - Land-Based Wind
KW - Birds
KW - Human Dimensions
KW - Social & Economic Data
ER -