Resource user discourses of coastal megaprojects in Bangladesh: Q methodology dataset

In the context of blue growth and blue economy, coastal megaprojects play an important role in coastal transformation in many countries. In the process of planning and implementing these infrastructure projects, opinions of local communities are often overlooked, especially in the Global South. In Bangladesh, Maheshkhali Island has emerged as a key hub for energy, trade, and tourism developments following maritime dispute resolutions. As a part of this study, we used Q methodology to investigate the subjective viewpoints of small-scale resource users by interviewing 32 resource users from the Maheshkhali Island in Bangladesh. The results identified three discourses: “Injustice in Growth”, “Development within Bounds”, and “Just Compensation and Safety” among the resource users. Their concerns include displacement, livelihood loss, health impacts, environmental degradation, and unjust compensation, highlighting the need for recognitional, procedural, and distributive justice in blue growth planning and implementation in Bangladesh. This study was conceptualized and conducted as part of the NOCRISES project, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany. This data publication provides a description of the data and guidelines for its reuse. Supplementary materials include the Q statements and dataset in English, encompassing both quantitative Q-sort data and qualitative respondent quotes, available in the accompanying CSV file.