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WAR AND PEACE AMONG STAKEHOLDERS 73 a trusted broker certifies the reliability of the information for the purpose at hand. However, such workarounds reduce the efficiency of information systems and have scientific and monetary costs that must be taken into account when making decisions about acquiring and using restricted data. Privatizing government functions or creating public-private partnerships is not always the best solution for meeting the needs of all environmental stakeholder groups, particularly if the net result is a reduction of information that resides in the public domain. THE NEED FOR A PROCESS OF NEGOTIATING AMONG STAKEHOLDERS The requirement that the information system serve multiple uses leads to the involvement of groups of stakeholdersâresearch scientists, private-sector organizations, government agencies, policy makers, and the general publicâ whose interests may not entirely coincide. Typically missing in existing management structures is a clear, identifiable process for stakeholders or their representatives to negotiate the details of solutions that optimize common interests and minimize conflicts, both at the policy level and in the details of implementation. 4 Of particular concern is the need to reconcile the requirement that sufficient high-quality data be available in the public domain (i.e., unrestricted access) with other requirements such as the need for (1) private- sector revenue; (2) protection of national security or personal privacy; or (3) demonstration of the value of investments of public funds. Solutions to these conflicts will depend on the particular circumstances of the information system at hand. Environmental information systems frequently nucleate around informal collaborations (including volunteers) that demonstrate useful partnerships. Such collaborations have a manageable number of stakeholder groups that share enough common interests and requirements to be able to negotiate reasonable agreements. The system then evolves incrementally, limited by the ability to demonstrate real value for the costs that must be incurred and by the ability to secure necessary 4Advisory committees and workshops are good mechanisms for securing input from stakeholder groups, but they lack authority to negotiate on the stakeholders' behalf.
WAR AND PEACE AMONG STAKEHOLDERS 74 resources (dollars and people) to implement those improvements on an ongoing basis in order to address evolving, long-term environmental issues (see Chapter 3, âThe Cycle for Updating Environmental Information Systemsâ). Negotiating agreements across the entire environmental enterprise is a daunting process. As the nuclei develop into long-term commitments, more formal arrangements, such as international negotiations carried out at the level of governments (e.g., Kyoto Protocol) become necessary. On a formal basis there are two foci for negotiations, both of which are part of the cyclic process for updating the information system. One nexus is the selection of core products to be made available for public distribution, and hence of priorities for the underlying observations. The other nexus is the determination of detailed requirements for data from the individual observation systems that comprise the roots. Negotiations must address both technical issues (i.e., what data are needed to achieve stated objectives) and operational issues (i.e., who would do what and how much it would cost). The results of these negotiations provide the basis for policy decisions. The public interest favors finding compromise solutions that are recognized by the parties concerned as reasonably satisfactory, but satisfactory agreements depend on who is at the negotiating table. For example, scientific needs (e.g., full and open access) are not always understood or taken into account because intergovernmental agreements or public-private partnerships are typically handled by government lawyers and business offices. If scientists were at the table, they would be more confident that their interests were being represented effectively. As part of the negotiations, government agencies should be prepared to provide an independent analysis of social benefits and costs using, for example, guidelines described in the following chapter. Reconciliation of the stakeholders' viewpoints is needed to produce a system that is vital and ensures environmental understanding and communal governance of the resources upon which we all depend. Recommendation. U.S. federal agencies with responsibility for multi- purpose environmental information systems should establish a clear, visible process through which representatives of all the stakeholder groups discuss the performance and negotiate the redesign of such systems with the goal of reconciling their interests.
