Promoting Environmental Mediation as a Tool for Public Participation and Conflict Resolution

On behalf of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, the project team, comprising the Austrian Society for Environment and Technology (OEGUT) and the REC, collected 16 relevant case studies from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Austria and Germany and carried out a comprehensive analysis of how mediation and other collaborative conflict resolution processes work in solving environmental conflicts. These case studies illustrate efforts to apply informal collaborative conflict resolution in CEE, with mixed results. They offer a variety of starting points for analysis and invite an investigation of the structural and institutional differences regarding environmental conflict management cases in “old” EU member states (Austria and Germany), “new” EU member states and their neighbouring countries. Recommendations are given regarding the implementation, design, context and other aspects of conflict resolution procedures, and the development of quality criteria for implementing environmental mediation procedures.

• Promoting Environmental Mediation as a Tool for Public Participation and Conflict Resolution
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