ABSTRACT
Local natural resource use conflicts at urbanised coasts and their resolution within the context of municipal planning are the focus of this chapter. Based on the analysis of three conflict cases from Belgium, the UK and Sweden I discuss the roles of practices of knowledge use and power inequalities for more lasting conflict resolution. Of the three discussed cases, only one may be seen as a successful case of conflict transformation with a widely accepted solution. I discuss the reasons behind this finding and point out insufficient attention to power inequalities and knowledge use practices, together with limited integration of knowledge from different actors into decision making, as one of the main weaknesses of local conflict resolution. If local resource management is to become more sustainable, it needs to incorporate more flexible, refined and diversified conflict resolution approaches on a systematic basis.
