Subject: from L. Huyck.: Re: The next question (fwd)

From: Victor Guest <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 1997 18:04:06 WST

>Reply-To: Leisa Huyck <[email-masked]>
>To: [email-masked]
>Interesting that Dick should touch on the "people" part of holistic
>management.  In teaching Natural Resource Planning I find that this is
>DEFINITELY where our curriculum is lacking, but I have discovered
>something called interest-based negotiation and am now using and teaching
>it as the cornerstone of collaborative, holistic planning. In my course, I
>teach first just the basic definitions of conflict (it arises when people
>are afraid of change), and interest-based negotiation as an alternative to
>conflict and/or litigation.  In an interest-based negotiation process,
>stakeholders in an issue come together to educate each other about their
>interests rather than negotiate from entrenched positions.  A position is
>a specific proposal for how we ought to deal with an issue.  An interest
>is the reason why we are making the proposal.  For example, a farmer's
>position might be that there should be no restrictions on the kinds of
>pesticides used. An environmentalist's position might be that there should
>be no pesticides allowed at all.  There is seemingly intractable conflict
>based on these positions.  But if we uncover the interests, we find that
>the farmer wants to maintain his or her economic viability and needs
>several pest control options to be able to do this.  The environmentalist
>wants to protect wildlife and improve water quality.  We can take the
>interests and combine them into a problem statement and then together
>figure out how to solve the problem.  "How can we protect wildlife and
>improve water quality while maintaining the farm's economic viability?"
>
>Then I spend WEEKS just teaching communication skills like using I
>statements, re-framing, cross-cultural communication, neutral
>intervention, etc.  Then I teach how to design and manage a conflict
>resolution PROCESS, then we do a simulated conflict resolution focusing on
>watershed planning.
>
>One of the most important characteristics of this type of group process is
>that there are ground rules about how people must behave if they want to
>participate.  So if people start calling names you simply remind them of
>the ground rules.  AFter a while a lot of trust gets built and people
>really do work together.  This method is working miracles in all kinds of
>situations in California, which is very heartening to those of us who find
>it painful to watch all the unnecessary conflicts over ecosystems here.
>
>So--take heart, the people side of things is beginning to be attended to,
>and it's WORKING!
>
>If anyone wants more info. about all this, let me know and I'll provide
>readings and get you in touch with the Institute for the Study of
>Alternative Dispute REsolution here in Arcata.
>
>Leisa Huyck

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Nancy Grudens Schuck
Doctoral Candidate

Department of Education
119 Kennedy Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York 14853
U.S.A.

E-mail: [email-masked]
FAX: (607) 255-7905

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