Environmental Mediation - Facts

An explanation of the concept

The aim of environmental mediation is to find a joint solution to conflicts which arise over projects with environmental implications. Where possible, all the parties concerned work out a solution together through a series of voluntary negotiations.

A neutral mediator or team of mediators leads the negotiations.

Environmental mediation is particularly helpful in the building of industrial or commercial installations, in waste disposal projects and in the construction of infra-structure networks (roads, rail routes, telecommunications).

The power of negotiation is tested to the limit when fundamentally ethical decisions (e.g. on nuclear energy or genetic engineering) have to be faced.

Environmental mediation over a project is not just about reaching a consensus, but also about the open discussion of different points of view.

Aims

To eliminate inequalities so no party is at a disadvantage. To inform citizens about the consequences of a project. To work out with everyone concerned a solution that is satisfactory all round.

Environmental mediation does not replace official planning permission procedures, but enables the official decision to be better prepared.

Mediation offers a forum where many different interests can be considered, and relieves the strain on administrative bodies, courts and local authorities.

Citizen´s groups and environmental organisations are equal partners in the negotiations regardless of their political position. The measures considered for lessening the environmental impact of a project usually go far beyond those prescribed by law. When a consensus is reached it is brought into the official planning application procedure which speeds up the whole process of granting planning permission.

Criteria

• The inclusion, if possible, of all the parties concerned
• The voluntary participation of those involved
• A neutral mediator or team of mediators
• The negotiability of the plans
• Intention and willingness to reach a consensus
• An agreement that the outcome of mediation will be binding

Structure

A course of environmental mediation can be divided into three phases.

Pre-negotiations phase

The parties are identified, conflict analysis carried out, and within the mediation forum the issues to be dealt with and the form the mediation will take are decided.

Negotiations phase

All the parties, either individually or in sub-groups, try to come up with suggestions for a solution. The results are summarised in a written agreement. This solution must be at least partially satisfactory to all concerned.

Completion phase

The outcome of the mediation is brought into the official decision making process and the necessary control mechanisms are set up.

The mediators support the parties in the decision making process but do not resolve their conflicts for them. Their main tasks are to promote continuing dialogue, to ensure that all sides keep to the agreement and to see that the equality of the parties in terms of knowledge and power is maintained.

Success factors

• The inclusion of all the parties concerned
• Professionally trained mediators
• The initiation of mediation as early as possible into the project
• Clear procedural guidelines
• The agreement that the outcome will be binding

For environmental mediation to be successful, it is essential that it is the honest intention of all concerned to work together towards a solution. Accordingly, the chance of reaching a consensus is reduced when the procedure is abused for P.R purposes, when information is held back, or when the project is not realistically negotiable.

In order to prevent environmental mediation being brought into discredit as a means merely of making a project seem acceptable, openness, transparency and the provision of information in good time is called for from all the parties concerned.

Österreichische Gesellschaft
für Umwelt und Technik
Hollandstraße 10/46
A-1020 Wien
Tel +43.1.315 63 93
Fax +43.1.315 63 93-22
E-Mail office@oegut.at

Further Information