From Book News, Inc.
A group of American academics drawn largely from the fields of public and environmental policy examine cases of collaborative natural resources planning involving governmental, private, and nonprofit institutions; primarily focusing on the role and influence of government in the processes and outcomes of collaborative processes. They examine six cases of collaborative environmental management from the United States categorized according to whether governmental actors played following, encouraging, or leading roles. They consider factors of issue definition, resources, and group structure and processes; finding collaborations are subject to strong and pervasive influence from government, individual government actors can moderate some of the effects of governmental institutions, and that government institutions create the parameters within which individuals can provide such a moderating influence. Distributed in the US by Johns Hopkins University Press.Copyright © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR


Book Description
Whether the stakeholders include public, nonprofit, or exclusively private participants, collaboration is increasingly favored over regulatory enforcement or litigation as a means to settle environmental conflicts. At the urging of citizens, nongovernmental organizations, industry, and individuals within their own institutions, government officials at all levels have been experimenting with collaboration in a wide variety of contexts. Yet questions remain about the best way to ensure that government involvement will be constructive -- that is will support collaboration, rather than introduce barriers.The goal of this thoughtful work is to analyze data from a variety of cases to explain how the different roles government plays in collaborative environmental management lead to different processes and outcomes. Looking at examples where government has acted to lead, encourage, or follow in the process of collaboration, they apply their new theoretical framework to cases involving the management of watersheds, rivers, and estuaries to farmland, animal habitats, and forests. Finding that there is no "best" role for government; the authors are nonetheless able make important observations about when and where collaborative environmental management is likely to be effective..


About the Author
Tomas M. Koontz, Ohio State UniversityJoAnn Carmin, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyToddi A. Steelman, North Carolina State UniversityCraig W. Thomas, University of Massachusetts, AmherstCassandra Moseley, University of OregonKatrina Smith Korfmacher, University of Rochester

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Whether the stakeholders include public, nonprofit, or exclusively private participants, collaboration is increasingly favored over regulatory enforcement or litigation as a means to settle environmental conflicts. At the urging of citizens, nongovernmental organizations, industry, and individuals within their own institutions, government officials at all levels have been experimenting with collaboration in a wide variety of contexts. Yet questions remain about the best way to ensure that government involvement will be constructive -- that is will support collaboration, rather than introduce barriers.

The goal of this thoughtful work is to analyze data from a variety of cases to explain how the different roles government plays in collaborative environmental management lead to different processes and outcomes. Looking at examples where government has acted to lead, encourage, or follow in the process of collaboration, they apply their new theoretical framework to cases involving the management of watersheds, rivers, and estuaries to farmland, animal habitats, and forests. Finding that there is no "best" role for government; the authors are nonetheless able make important observations about when and where collaborative environmental management is likely to be effective..

SYNOPSIS