Environmental conflict is among the greatest global challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. Management of environmental conflict that surrounds complex issues, such as natural resource use and endangered species protection, requires understanding not only biological and social underpinnings within diverse contexts, but also how to craft sound environmental policy that addresses these issues and gains social legitimacy of the public and interested stakeholders. As society has become increasingly aware of environmental issues, the challenge of structuring appropriate decision-making processes and public participation opportunities becomes a central concern for many natural resource agencies, industries, interest groups and the general public. Complicating this is the challenges faced by many developing or lower-income regions of the world to engage in policy that protects the environment while sustaining economic stability. As such, developing research on environmental conflict management processes that address such complicated nuances of policy development and using diverse theoretical and methodological approaches from across communication, science, and technology becomes critical.
This Research Topic posits key questions for scholars and practitioners in the 21st century, and intends to create a rich discussion useful for educators, researchers, and practitioners. Contributors are asked to submit research and essays that address critical questions about trends, opportunities, and possibilities of environmental conflict management and policy development processes at local, national, and international scales. Theoretical contributions that speak to the structure of environmental conflict management processes such as the assessment, design, development and implementation of policy and that address interdisciplinary challenges and particular nuances of collaborative processes such as culture, competing values, scientific uncertainty and blurred political boundaries or levels of policy development are encouraged. Practitioners are strongly encouraged to submit reflective essays about their experiences in the field or case studies highlighting a specific aspect of environmental conflict management. Editors welcome submissions that employ diverse theoretical and methodological approaches.
Environmental conflict is among the greatest global challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. Management of environmental conflict that surrounds complex issues, such as natural resource use and endangered species protection, requires understanding not only biological and social underpinnings within diverse contexts, but also how to craft sound environmental policy that addresses these issues and gains social legitimacy of the public and interested stakeholders. As society has become increasingly aware of environmental issues, the challenge of structuring appropriate decision-making processes and public participation opportunities becomes a central concern for many natural resource agencies, industries, interest groups and the general public. Complicating this is the challenges faced by many developing or lower-income regions of the world to engage in policy that protects the environment while sustaining economic stability. As such, developing research on environmental conflict management processes that address such complicated nuances of policy development and using diverse theoretical and methodological approaches from across communication, science, and technology becomes critical.
This Research Topic posits key questions for scholars and practitioners in the 21st century, and intends to create a rich discussion useful for educators, researchers, and practitioners. Contributors are asked to submit research and essays that address critical questions about trends, opportunities, and possibilities of environmental conflict management and policy development processes at local, national, and international scales. Theoretical contributions that speak to the structure of environmental conflict management processes such as the assessment, design, development and implementation of policy and that address interdisciplinary challenges and particular nuances of collaborative processes such as culture, competing values, scientific uncertainty and blurred political boundaries or levels of policy development are encouraged. Practitioners are strongly encouraged to submit reflective essays about their experiences in the field or case studies highlighting a specific aspect of environmental conflict management. Editors welcome submissions that employ diverse theoretical and methodological approaches.
