Science, Environment and Development Group

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Back to main page for Occasional Speaker Series on Research Topics in Sustainable Development

Tuesday, 6 April 2004
The Standard Environmental Decision Making Process is Broken!
Herman Karl, Marine Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, and Visiting Lecturer, Department of Urban and Regional Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2:00-3:30 pm, Perkins Room (E-415), 4th Floor, Eliot Building, KSG (Map)

Abstract:

The title of this talk is a statement made by a local official frustrated with the adversarial process used to make land use planning and environmental policy decisions in a local watershed in northern California. It was followed by the question, "Is there a better way?" The inadequacy of established mechanisms and institutional frameworks for natural resource management and environmental problem solving has become increasingly apparent in recent decades owing to the ever-increasing contentious nature of the disputes.  The Department of the Interior (DOI) is seeking ways to move environmental policy making and natural resources and ecosystems management away from conflict toward cooperation and innovative solutions. An adversarial approach exacerbates conflict and makes difficult the crafting of wise and durable policy solutions.  An alternative and, in the view of many, better approach to ecosystems/natural resources management and environment policy is one based on a process of collaborative problem solving that seeks consensus.  DOI agencies are exploring the use of the principles of consensus-based decision-making and collaborative problem solving as a framework for a model of decision-making in which citizens and government share the responsibility for land use planning, ecosystems/natural resources management, and environmental policy. In this model citizens take responsibility for being stewards of the land.  Citizen stewardship groups play a leadership role in working with government to seek consensus on vexing and complex environmental issues. Projects are being designed and procedures put in place to determine if this model is a better way to arrive at wise solutions that result in stable policy.

Ecosystems/natural resource management and environmental policy decisions should be grounded in sound science.  It is no longer possible to keep scientific and "political" considerations entirely separate in making resource management and environmental policy decisions in the United States. Various laws and administrative practices require that attention be given to "good science" while the political realities of environmental decision-making more or less guarantee that the interests of a wide range of groups will be taken into account. Yet science is often ignored in important societal decisions even as the call for decisions based on sound science escalates. One reason for this is that decision-making is often driven by a variety of nonscientific, adversarial, and stakeholder dynamics. Thus, even though science helps inform choices, it is only one of many values and interests considered by each stakeholder.  Increasingly scientists and policy makers acknowledge the need to involve "'users' and stakeholders more directly in the research design and process of analysis" (NRC, 1999) of scientific studies.  Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are embarking upon research that explores the problems of incorporating science into value-laden societal decisions.  This research includes designing experiments that will assess the appropriateness of using the new and emerging approach of Joint Fact Finding as a component of a collaborative problem solving process that also includes adaptive management and societal learning.  This line of research is especially appropriate for USGS because it is unique among the DOI agencies in that it has no regulatory authority. USGS scientists do not advocate for a specific policy although their science can help inform policy choices.  Joint fact-finding refers to the procedures or "best practices" that have evolved over the past several decades for ensuring that science and politics are appropriately balanced in environmental decision-making at the federal, state and local levels.  Joint fact-finding allows for the consideration of local/cultural knowledge while preserving the independence of the scientists, as well as their commitment to the best practices of scientific inquiry. The exploration of the role of science and scientists in collaborative processes that include joint fact-finding is one of the primary mission goals of the USGS’s Science Impact Program.  Science Impact represents a focused USGS effort to improve and expand the use of science information to inform and support decisions at all levels of society.

Biography:

Herman Karl is a marine geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. He currently serves as chief scientist at the USGS Western Geographic Science Center in Menlo Park, CA. He is responsible for analyzing the role of science and scientists in ecosystem management and environmental policy decisions. This research includes experimenting with collaborative, consensus-based processes, such as Joint Fact Finding, whereby citizens partner with government to work together to achieve common goals and sustainable solutions to complex, science-intensive environmental disputes. He also studies mechanisms to facilitate synthesis, communication and translation of knowledge across disciplinary, cultural and institutional boundaries. As an instructor in the Bureau of Land Management, he teaches about implementing concepts of shared governance and citizen stewardship.

Background documents:

United States Geological Survey. 2002. "Science Impact – Enhancing the Use of USGS Science." Unpublished paper, 4 April.

McVicker, Gary, and Todd Bryan. 2002. "Community-Based Ecosystem Stewardship." Unpublished paper.

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