Full document / COSOC-W-86-002 - the National Sea Grant Library

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was facilitated by U.S. EPA's Chesapeake Bay Program and the
nonprofit Citizens Program for the Chesapeake Bay.
Today's Tools for Managing the Bnruarine Environment
The principal void in managing the restoration and preservation of
an estuary is a means to build a cccprehensive coalitions of users
and impacted parties from the private sector with a cccmcn goal and
to assure that the coalition is utilized by government environmental
managers in developing and implementing an estuarine protection plan.
The* skills of "cKxaninity of interest" building, meeting management,
facilitation, mediation and negotiation have been combined to
develop the process called Policy Negotiation. It can be utilized
to build and sustain a comprehensive coalition within an estuary and
to assist enviratDental managers to utilize that coalition to make
decisions that will stick.
National Eafcuarv Program
Currently the Center is developing a project for the Office of
Marine and Estuarine Protection which will utilize policy
negotiation to help build the coalitions that are needed to provide
the .framework for public/private sector collaboration. The Center
will help the parties set goals and develop action plans in three of
the nation'8 largest estuaries.
These tools applied in these ways can provide the kinds of
continuous interaction between leaders and followers which is needed
to make environmental management decisions that stick.