Negotiating, naturally

By Robert Brickhouse

When interests conflict over environmental issues, such as wildlife habitat and property rights, logging operations and forest preservation, the University’s Institute for Environmental Negotiation can help the diverse groups involved — local communities, government agencies and environmentalists — work on collaborative solutions. The institute recently received a $375,000 grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to fund joint projects through the national Community Based Collaboratives Research Consortium. The grant will also allow the institute to expand the consortium Web site, which boasts an extensive database at http://www.cbcrc.org.

Founded in 1999 and run by the U.Va. institute, the consortium serves as a forum for researchers, agencies and community and environmental groups to share research findings concerning collaborative approaches to environmental management.

Across the nation — from Applegate, Oregon, to Nelson County, Virginia — community groups are increasingly concerned about the impact of environmental management on their livelihoods. In response, communities have formed their own collaborative groups to participate in advising government agencies about management plans involving a diversity of issues ranging from grazing to timber to endangered species.

“The uses, complexity and applications for collaborative environmental management have grown exponentially over the past five years, as has the concern about the appropriate uses for these processes,” said Franklin Dukes, the institute’s director.

The grant from the Hewlett Foundation will enable the consortium to coordinate and fund collaborative research projects among universities and community groups and to develop new methodologies and protocols for conducting research.

“By providing a free and open forum for sharing and evaluating research findings, we hope to foster new understandings and, ultimately, better outcomes for communities and the environment,” Dukes said.

The grant will allow the consortium to enhance its Web site, which contains a database of research, books, journals, projects and contacts for use by researchers, community groups, agencies and general public. The institute also will conduct workshops for researchers to coordinate and present their latest findings.

The Institute for Environmental Negotiation, affiliated with the School of Architecture, was formed in 1980 to provide mediation and consensus-building services to the public and private sectors concerning conflicts and policy choices about land use and the natural and built environment.