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Extraction, Fossils, and Memories: A Case Study in the Governance of the Faxe Limestone Quarry, Denmark

Zhang, Jichen LU (2026) SOCM05 20261
Sociology
Abstract
This thesis examines the Faxe limestone quarry (Faxe Kalkbrud), Denmark's largest active limestone quarry, where extraction, biodiversity conservation, geological research, and public fossil hunting coexist without any recorded environmental conflict, unlike the cases described in the conflict or heritage literature on quarries. Drawing on ecological modernization theory (EMT), this study asks how this multi-institutional governance order is sustained, and how different actors understand and enact it in practice. Using an interpretivist single-case design, the analysis draws on semi-structured interviews with six informants, supplemented by participatory observation and material and spatial analysis.

The findings show that this order... (More)
This thesis examines the Faxe limestone quarry (Faxe Kalkbrud), Denmark's largest active limestone quarry, where extraction, biodiversity conservation, geological research, and public fossil hunting coexist without any recorded environmental conflict, unlike the cases described in the conflict or heritage literature on quarries. Drawing on ecological modernization theory (EMT), this study asks how this multi-institutional governance order is sustained, and how different actors understand and enact it in practice. Using an interpretivist single-case design, the analysis draws on semi-structured interviews with six informants, supplemented by participatory observation and material and spatial analysis.

The findings show that this order has largely been driven by a key actor, the quarry director, who turned environmentally and socially friendly conduct into part of the firm's own operating logic, reflected in the transfer of land to the Nature Agency, ongoing biodiversity work, sustained support for geological research, and an informal cross-sector "follow group." The museum plays an equally central role, organizing public participation and narrating extraction as local heritage. Yet this arrangement remains only partly institutionalized, still depending heavily on specific individuals rather than settled company policy, offering both empirical support for EMT and a qualification of its account of institutionalization. (Less)
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author
Zhang, Jichen LU
supervisor
organization
course
SOCM05 20261
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Ecological modernization theory, quarry governance, social license to operate, collective memory, case study
language
English
id
9251012
date added to LUP
2026-09-16 15:53:11
date last changed
2026-09-16 15:53:11
@misc{9251012,
  abstract     = {{This thesis examines the Faxe limestone quarry (Faxe Kalkbrud), Denmark's largest active limestone quarry, where extraction, biodiversity conservation, geological research, and public fossil hunting coexist without any recorded environmental conflict, unlike the cases described in the conflict or heritage literature on quarries. Drawing on ecological modernization theory (EMT), this study asks how this multi-institutional governance order is sustained, and how different actors understand and enact it in practice. Using an interpretivist single-case design, the analysis draws on semi-structured interviews with six informants, supplemented by participatory observation and material and spatial analysis.

The findings show that this order has largely been driven by a key actor, the quarry director, who turned environmentally and socially friendly conduct into part of the firm's own operating logic, reflected in the transfer of land to the Nature Agency, ongoing biodiversity work, sustained support for geological research, and an informal cross-sector "follow group." The museum plays an equally central role, organizing public participation and narrating extraction as local heritage. Yet this arrangement remains only partly institutionalized, still depending heavily on specific individuals rather than settled company policy, offering both empirical support for EMT and a qualification of its account of institutionalization.}},
  author       = {{Zhang, Jichen}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Extraction, Fossils, and Memories: A Case Study in the Governance of the Faxe Limestone Quarry, Denmark}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}