Environmental mediation: an instrument for collaborative decision making in territorial planing

Environmental Mediation allows, besides formal participation, true collaborative decision making as well as prevention and resolution of conflicts. This paper analyses the advantages of mediation applied in environmental and territorial planning conflicts (Mediação Ambiental e Sócio­‑Territorial – MAST) following the requirements of the Portuguese Mediation Law No 29/2013, of April 19th. It aims to understand if this legal basis prevents or encourages a more intense and efficient use of Environmental Mediation in land use planning as a means within public policy.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An integrative assessment based on land cover

Cabral, P., Campos, F. S., David, J., & Caser, U. (2021). Disentangling ecosystem services perception by stakeholders: An integrative assessment based on land cover. Ecological Indicators, 126, 1-10. [107660]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107660Understanding where ecosystem services (ES) are and quantifying their supply using stakeholderś information is key for effective sustainable management. This paper describes a participatory methodology for extracting stakeholders’ ES perception for continental Portugal based on land cover using analytical hierarchy process (AHP), matrix-based approach with data visualization techniques, and scenario analysis. Results show that drought regulation was the most valued ES by stakeholders and recreation was considered the least important. Results also show that the “Agricultural areas and “Forests and semi-natural areas” land cover classes provide about two-thirds of the total ES for the country. An “Economic development” scenario will yield negative values for all ES except recreation and food supply, whereas an “Environmental development” scenario will increase all ES, except food supply. Finally, a “Sustainable development” scenario, presents values between the previous two scenarios and is the best for food supply. This operational methodology for extracting information from stakeholders and to report information on the mapping and assessment of ES can be helpful for sustainable planning in Portugal and elsewhere.publishersversionpublishe

Stakeholders sustainable management in agriculture: lessons from participatory processes

XXIII International Conference Society for Human Ecology, «Navigating complexity: human-environmental solutions for a challenging future», Lisbon 7-10July 2018.Stakeholders are nowadays encouraged to become actively involved in the sustainable management of the territory and, in rural areas such as Castro Verde which is Natura 2000 Special Protection Area and nowadays a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, as well as in the all country, equilibrium between nature conservation and farm production systems is a key factor for sustainability. This paper focuses on the contribution of local actors to evaluate the agro-environmental commitments applied during the last Portuguese Rural Development Program (PRODER/2007-2013). It aims to propose adjustments and new ideas to improve agricultural sustainable practices by assessing the existing commitments and supporting new public strategies regarding the new 2014-2020 programming cycle of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. This was accomplished through the participation of local stakeholders in a set of five workshops, each one in different agricultural region of Portugal. The three-hour workshops were based on interactive techniques as drivers to generate debate, promote knowledge exchanges and produce new knowledge to be presented to policy makers

A Mediação Ambiental e Sócio-Territorial - Um Campo de Intervenção por Excelência para Geógrafos!

No mundo globalizado as estruturas tradicionais de decisão originam cada vez mais conflitos, ou seja fortes desacordos políticos acerca das soluções a escolher, bem como protesto da sociedade civil face à implementação de certas decisões. A Mediação, como meio de resolução alternativa e extrajudicial de conflitos oferece aqui uma oportunidade de tomada de decisão colaborativa. A Mediação Ambiental e Sócio Territorial (MAST), sendo uma intervenção virada para a comunicação eficaz, para a clarificação dos interesses dos atores e para o planeamento e a tomada de decisão colaborativa e sustentável, ganhou nas últimas décadas, também em Portugal, cada vez mais relevância. Trata-se de um campo de intervenção por excelência para Geógrafos, visto que o “core business” de Geógrafos é o estudo e a gestão dos efeitos provenientes de interdependências sejam eles ambientais ou sócio-territoriais

Environmental mediation: an instrument for collaborative decision making in territorial planing

Environmental Mediation allows, besides formal participation, true collaborative decision making as well as prevention and resolution of conflicts. This paper analyses the advantages of mediation applied in environmental and territorial planning conflicts (Mediação Ambiental e Sócio‑Territorial– MAST ) following the requirements of the Portuguese Mediation Law Nº29/2013, of April 19th. It aims to understand if this legal basis prevents or encourages a more intense and efficient use of Environmental Mediation in land use planning as a means within public policy

Collaborative urban design, a promising approach to brownfield recovery – FRUNZE 35, Kiev UA

This paper describes an outstandingly innovative pilot project of collaborative urban design and integrated planning. 16 experts (architects, urbanists, geographers and economists) underwent a professionally designed and facilitated consensus construction process and developed a common project proposal for the reconversion and re-vitalization of Frunze 35, an abandoned industrial site in Kiev (Ukraine). In five days of intense work a multi-sectorial socio-economic and a multi-scale spatial approach led to a project proposal, that focused on history and heritage, activities, architecture, link to the surroundings and a feasible management model for Frunze 35. This experience is transferrable to collaborative urban planning all over Europe, whenever an effective participation and involvement of stakeholders, users and other interested actors are in demand

Collaborative urban design, a promising approach to brownfield recovery – FRUNZE 35, Kiev UA

This paper describes an outstandingly innovative pilot project of collaborative urban design and integrated planning. 16 experts (architects, urbanists, geographers and economists) underwent a professionally designed and facilitated consensus construction process and developed a common project proposal for the reconversion and re-vitalization of Frunze 35, an abandoned industrial site in Kiev (Ukraine). In five days of intense work a multi-sectorial socio-economic and a multi-scale spatial approach led to a project proposal, that focused on history and heritage, activities, architecture, link to the surroundings and a feasible management model for Frunze 35. This experience is transferrable to collaborative urban planning all over Europe, whenever an effective participation and involvement of stakeholders, users and other interested actors are in demand

Mediação ambiental: Explorando a praticabilidade dos princípios da Lei n.º 29/2013

Uma adequada preservação do ambiente para as gerações presentes e futuras exige uma resolução rápida e eficiente dos conflitos ambientais. A complexidade dos conflitos ambientais e a multiplicidade de grupos atores envolvidos retarda a tomada de decisões e dificulta os processos judiciais em muitas dimensões. Neste âmbito, a mediação apresenta-se como o instrumento que pode contribuir para a participação mais ampla e diversificada de todas as partes direta e indiretamente afetadas, surgindo como um método capaz de responderThe adequate prerservation of the environment for present and future generations calls for the rapid and efficient resolution of environmental conflicts. However, the complexity of environmental conflicts and the multiplicity of involved stakeholders slow down decision-making and make judicial processes difficult in many dimensions. In this context, mediation appears as a tool that can contribute to a wider and diverse participation of all directly and indirectly parties and proves capable of responding in a structured procedural way the specificities of environmental disputes. This general context served as a basis for the book "Environmental Madiation - from Law to Practice" (referring to the Portuguese Law Mediation 29/2013), published by Gestlegal in 2020. The authors explore the eight principles of mediation proposed by the Portugueses mediation law, discussing their applicability in environmental context. This text revisits and develops some of the conclusions included in the above mentioned book.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

MARGOV – building social sustainability

Structured in three components - Governance, Citizenship and Dynamic-Spatial Structure – the MARGov project aims to build a Model of Collaborative Governance for Marine Protected Areas using as case study the Marine Park Professor Luiz Saldanha. The objective is to empower local communities enabling them to be agents for change for the sustainable governance of the Ocean, through an eco-social dialogue supported by active participation. This intends to reinforce competences and the co-responsibility of all the actors involved. In this paper the authors present the work developed in the first component – Governance – essential to assure social sustainability. A successful Marine Protected Area strongly depends on the balance between man and environment, and therefore, on the eco-social dialogue that is possible to be established among all actors. According to the literature, the building up of participatory formats that assure the articulation between different groups, enhancing the constructive dialogue aiming at achieving sustainable management, contributes to the overlay of knowledge and different perspectives, and generates enriched and more robust solutions. It also says that such processes generate new synergies and potentiate the exchange of ideas, experiences, technical-scientific cooperation, as well as the integration of knowledge and good practices, and that they frequently create the conditions for the emergence of innovative alternatives. This paper is about the participatory sessions created and conducted as part of the Governance component of the project, describing the methodology developed for the expanded involvement of local communities aiming at building a model of Collaborative Governance. It also presents the strategy developed by the MARGov team to reinforce the social component, through continuous improvement of a communication strategy and the setting up of a constructive participatory process. Finally, it presents the results of the dialog generated in these fora and it discusses all this in the context of a general conceptual framework. It also identifies what made an actual difference, and the lessons learned, theorizing from action and exploring how to pursue.publishe