Multi-stakeholder decision making: The shoal lake watershed case

Abstract

There is a growing trend in Canadian society to consistently demand more say in public decision-making processes, particularly with respect to the conservation of resources and environmental protection. As a result, experience in multi-stakeholder decision making (MSDM) is growing in Canada. There are now several functioning MSDM forums such as the Commission on Resources and the Environment, the Model Forest Program, and the Dauphin Lake Advisory Board. This paper reports the results of the development and attempted implementation of an MSDM process for the Shoal Lake (Manitoba/Ontario) watershed. The process was developed by Shoal Lake First Nation No. 40, with the collaboration and technical assistance of the authors, and involved interviews and workshops with stakeholders within and outside the watershed, as well as participants in other MSDM forums in Canada. The MSDM process eventually conceived has four phases and seven steps: Phase 1 Start-up 1) establish government alliance 2) constitute initiating committee 3) hold stakeholder meeting 4) establish working forum structure; Phase 2 Search for common ground: forum meetings/consensus building; Phase 3 Establish rules: negotiation of ground rules; Phase 4 Decision making: make decisions and re-evaluate goals, process, structure. The public policy implications of the findings, particularly regarding the failed implementation attempts, are discussed in the paper. © 1998 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.