E363 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT LECTURE 13 SESSION COMMUNICATING RISK Dr Nguyen Thi Hoang Lien nguyenthihoanglien@hus.edu.vn THE CONCEPT OF RISK IN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY Risk is simply seen as the possibility of suffering harm (eg., crossing a busy intersection, breathing polluted air, eating certain foods, undergoing medical tests, playing sports, etc.) TWO DIMENSIONS OF RISK TWO CATEGORIES OF RISK PERCEPTION OF RISK • Risk means different things to different people; • People tend to ignore or discount discrete, familiar, voluntary, and low-probability risks; • Feelings of control and opportunities for participation influence evaluations of the acceptability of risk; • People evaluate risk as members of a community; • Trust is an important influence on risk perceptions RISK COMMUNICATION • Risk communication is an intentional transfer of information designed to respond to public concerns or public needs related to real or perceived hazards • Risk communication is described as any public or private communication that informs individuals about the existence, nature, form, severity, or acceptability of risks Plough and Krimsky, 1990 • Risk communication is an interactive process of exchange of information and opinion among individuals, groups, and institutions • Risk communication involves multiple messages about the nature of risk and other messages, not strictly about risk, that express concerns, opinions, or reactions to risk messages or to legal and institutional arrangements for risk management The National Academy of Sciences of the U.S., 1989 THE RISK COMMUNICATION PROCESS E363 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT LECTURE 13 SESSION ENVIRONMENTAL MEDIATION Dr Nguyen Thi Hoang Lien nguyenthihoanglien@hus.edu.vn WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION (EDR) EDR consists of a set of techniques, processes, and roles that enable parties to a dispute to reach agreement with the help of a neutral third party known as a mediator 10 CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EDR PROCESS • Voluntary participation by the parties involved in the dispute; • Direct or ‘face-to-face’ group interaction among the representatives of these parties; and • Mutual agreement or consensus decisions among the parties on the process to be used and any settlement that may emerge Crowfoot and Wondolleck (1990) 11 THE SOURCES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICT •Difference in values and worldviews; • Conflicting interests; and • Technical uncertainty  What EDR offers is help in trying to keep these conflicts manageable, proportionate, and ultimately resolvable through creative solutions 12 WHEN EDR IS MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED • There are a manageable number of identifiable interests; • There are no major issues that involve scientific uncertainty; • The core dispute raises no fundamental value or symbolic issues; • The parties are able to achieve a level of trust and a sense of shared purpose; • There exists a rough parity in relative power among the participants 13 STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES FOR SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATIONS • Separate the people from the problem; • Focus on interests, not positions; • Generate a wide variety of options for reconciling interests; • Insist that the results be based on objective criteria 14