Convening Collaboration for Environmental Conflict Resolution

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Convening
Collaboration for
Environmental
Conﬂict
Resolution
Soleeheen Bilanglod (Thailand)
Tim Workman (USA)
Friday, April 24, 15

Agenda
‣ Environmental Conﬂict Resolution - General
Principles
‣ Basic Framework for Analysis & Intervention
‣ Regional Trends, Southeast Asia
‣ Case Studies
‣ Scenario Exercise
‣ Debrief Synthesis/Group Presentations
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“CONFLICT IS INDISPENSABLE TO DEFINING, OVER TIME, A
SOCIALLY SUSTAINABLE ORDER, BECAUSE IT IMPELS
INSTITUTIONS TOWARD SUCH A SEARCH IN THE FIRST PLACE.”
K. LEE, 1993

Conﬂict & Response
Conﬂict: “an expressed struggle between at least two
interdependent parties who perceive incompatible
goals, scare resources, and interference from others
in achieving their goals.”
Responses:
Denial/Avoidance/“Saving Face”
Accommodation/Compromise
Competition
Force/Violence
Negotiation
Collaboration
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WHICH APPROACH IS MORE
COMMON TO YOUR COUNTRY?

Environmental & Natural
Resource Conflicts
ISSUES
- Scientific Complexity
and Uncertainty
- Conflicting Values and
Ideologies
- Cross jurisdictional
boundaries
- Continuing and Evolving
- Varied Settings
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PARTIES
- Diverse
- Differing Knowledge
Levels
- Differing Power and
Resources
- Challenges w/ engaging
un- and under-
represented parties.

Distinctions and
Differences
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CHRONIC CONFLICTS
W/ ENVIR. ELEMENTS
BOUNDED ENVIR.
DISPUTES
DEPTHOFDISPUTE
* NEED FOR MULTI-SCALAR RESPONSES?
COLLIER-HOEFFLER MODEL ON CAUSAL
FACTORS FOR SOCIAL CONFLICT:
๏ DISPARITY IN INCOME PER CAPITA
๏ RATE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
๏ STRUCTURE OF THE ECONOMY (E.G.,
DEPENDENCE ON PRIMARY COMMODITY
EXPORTS)
๏ ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS COMPOSITION ALSO
MATTERS

Bounded Disputes: Key
Considerations
Adequate Representation of Stakeholders -
especially poor and marginalized communities for
sustainable decision making.
Availability of good science and information for
objective analysis and deliberation.
Supportive & eﬀective legal and institutional
infrastructure.
Spill-Overs and Public Accountability
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*Special Subjects of
Concern
How do you engage indigenous stakeholders?
Long-standing connection with land; unique
institutions.
Free, Prior, and Informed Consent/Consultation.
E.g., Awas Tingni – Abutting Interests &
Customary Mediation.
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What is Environmental
Conﬂict Resolution?
• Any method of resolving environmental disputes
other than adjudication. “Alternative Dispute
Resolution.”
• A Collaborative Process to resolve disputes, create
plans, policies, and recommendations:
- All stakeholders participate
- May involve a “neutral third party”
- May or may not be a consensus process
- May or may not involve shared decision making
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Basic Collaborative Forms of
Dispute Resolution
1. Facilitation
Educational, exploratory facilitated dialogue among
stakeholders on public issues that builds understanding
short of agreement. Usually to prevent conflict.
2. Mediation
Two or more groups negotiating, with guidance from a third
party, in order to clarify, understand, and eventually agree
on a conflict issue.
3. Conciliation
Third party actively directs parties toward common
agreement, develops and proposes the terms of a
settlement to a conflict.
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What is Collaboration?
MARGERUM, 2011
Collaboration is an approach to solving complex
problems in which a diverse group of autonomous
stakeholders deliberates to build consensus and
develop networks for translating consensus into
results.
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What does
Collaboration look like?
Voluntary
Face-to-face
Has a Purpose
Cross-boundary (organizations, interests,
geography, jurisdictions, sectors)
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Why Collaborate?
Collaboration can lead to better decisions that are
more likely to be implemented and, at the same
time, better prepare agencies and communities for
future environmental challenges ... building
bridges between agencies, organizations, and
individuals in environmental management.
WONDOLLECK AND YAFFEE (2000)
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Roles in Collaboration
Sponsors
Give resources and staﬀ to support convening
process.
Conveners
Identify stakeholders, bring to table, secure resources.
Neutrals
Third Party facilitator used in process to avoid
perception of bias.
Participants
Stakeholders - individuals, interest/civic groups,
public/private organizations.
MARGERUM, 2011
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Rules for Collaboration
1.Stakeholders are willing, able, and committed to
engage in the process.
2.All aﬀected stakeholders are involved and
adequately represented.
3.Stakeholders empowered to determine process
procedures and select facilitator.
EMERSON, 2015
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Rules for Collaboration
No. 2
1.Stakeholders are ready to negotiate in good faith
and with accountability.
2.The process is timely.
3.The process is informed, with agreement on
sharing, testing, and applying relevant data.
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EMERSON, 2015

Circumstances Favoring
Collaboration
1. Resolution will not compromise stakeholders’
basic values.
2. Power symmetry among stakeholders.
3. Key parties are willing to participate.
4. Implementation of an agreement is likely.
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EMERSON, 2015

Circumstances Favoring
Collaboration No. 2
1. Communities have strong social capital, low
diﬀerence, and can build on common ground.
2. Facilitator is perceived as neutral.
3. There is adequate time and funding.
4. The process is insulated from politics.
5. Participants have a stake in resolving the
problem, not continuing stalemate.
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EMERSON, 2015

Constraints on
Collaboration/ECR
1.Participant reluctance due to time and resource
constraints.
2.Restrictions related to policy or law.
3.Agency resistance to ceding control/transparency.
4.High agency turn-over.
5.Participant subterfuge (litigation, lack of
engagement, use of media).
EMERSON, 2015
It can take months or even years to develop a collaborative
agreement or plan. Agencies and elected oﬃcials generally prefer
faster processes.
MARGERUM, 2011;
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Opportunities for
Collaboration
BROADER POLICY LEVEL
SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS
EMERSON, 2015
DEVELOP
PROPOSED
ACTIONS
REVIEW
PLANS
ALLOCATE
RESOURCES
LICENSE/
PERMIT
ENFORCE
REGULATIONS
IMPLEMENT
PROJECTS
SETTLE
DISPUTES
MONITOR
STUDY
RESOURCE
POTENTIAL
/RISKS
FRAME
POLICY
ISSUES
ANALYZE
POLICY
OPTIONS
DEVELOP
POLICY
CREATE
RULES/
INCENTIVES
DESIGN
DISPUTE
RESOLUTION
MECHANISM/
SYSTEM
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Evaluating Collaboration
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I
M
P
A
C
T
S
?

Does it “work”?
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AT THIS POINT THE BURDEN IS ON THE PROMOTERS (OF
COLLABORATION) TO DEMONSTRATE THAT IT CAN
WORK; THAT IT CAN BE FAIR AND INVOLVE ALL
STAKEHOLDERS, ESPECIALLY WHERE BROAD ISSUES
ARE AT STAKE; THAT IT CAN RESPECT AGENCY
LEGITIMACY; THAT IT CAN GET BEYOND GOOD
FEELINGS TO PRODUCE MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS;
AND THAT IT CAN BE WORTH THE TIME IT REQUIRES.
[M. McCloskey, as quoted in Harmon, W., “McCloskey on
Collaboration: The Conversation Continues, The Compass, Fall
1998.]

Key Design Principles
➡The Importance of Assessment
➡The Importance of Creating a Process Roadmap
➡The Importance of Monitoring and Evaluation
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State of Conﬂict
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SE Asia & ENR Conflict
Global conflict areas
using academic (above)
and ENGO reports
(bottom). Dark areas
show the higher
concentration of forest
conflict. SE Asia is a
global “hotspot” for
forest and land-related
social conflict.
(Dhiaulhaq, et. al, 2015)
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Policy Developments
Decentralization & Opening Political Spaces for
Collaboration.
Changing Stakeholders: Ethnic vs. Class
Consciousness; Indigenous Rights.
Upstream and Downstream Expectations:
Corporate Social Responsibility, Trade
Associations, Conscientious Consumers.
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Pattani - Deep Conﬂict
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Kajang Conﬂict

Kajang Conﬂict
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Scenario Activity
Groups of 10-12
Read Scenario (5-10 minutes)
Answer Questions (20-30 minutes)
Note-taker will report to whole group
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ASSESSMENT FLOWCHART

Debrieﬁng/Reﬂection
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CONTACT
TIM WORKMAN, MA CANDIDATE
JAMES E. ROGERS COLLEGE OF LAW
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
TIM.WORKMAN.RULIT@GMAIL.COM
SOLEEHEEN BILANGLOD
SOLEEHEEN.B@GMAIL.COM

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Terima Kasih
Chữ nôm
ขอบคุณ
ឣរគុណ
!က#$ဇ&$တန)ပ+တယ)။
ຂອບໃຈSelamat
ThankYou
APRIL 22–25, 2015 SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA
#YSEALIGenEarth

Convening Collaboration for Environmental Conflict Resolution

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