Building Civic Capacity to Resolve Environmental Conflicts

摘要

Decisions involving environmental issues affect,and are affected by,numerous stakeholders.Solutions frequently require the efforts of multiple agencies,individuals,and interest groups.Civic capacity-consisting of institutions,organizations,and individuals,the knowledge and skills embedded in them,and their ability to collectively resolve problems affecting shared space or resources-is therefore a critical element of the collective ability to make complex environmental decisions.This article explores how shared frames for understanding and acting upon environmental issues promote civic capacity,as do processes of effective civic discourse and problem solving.Frames shape the manner in which stakeholders comprehend the environment,as well as the perceived fruitfulness of working with others.Civic discourse and deliberative processes enable cooperative joint problem solving.This article further argues that civic capacity can be cultivated,and that enhancements to civic capacity promote successful partnering between organizations,lay publics,and environmental professionals,and improve the quality of environmental decision making.Meaningful change in discourse and in outcomes is possible,even when parties to a conflict start out deeply divided,with significantly segmented frames;however,this change requires simultaneous improvements both in patterns of discourse and in the framing that underlies joint problem solving.