Trust and Consensus Building in the Context of Environmental Risk Management

Abstract

This paper examines how citizens prefer to achieve consensus in the context of an environmental risk policy. A questionnaire-based study was conducted on the dispute over the Chitose drainage canal plan. Respondents consisted of three hundred and twenty-four adult residents randomly sampled in Sapporo City which is close to the preset area of the plan. The results of the research suggested that (1) an institution that can consistently monitor the actions of the government will improve the trust in environmental assessments and (2) citizens prefer an adversarial procedure over one that is inquisitional when making the final decision and they highly rate the acceptance of suggestions by stakeholders throughout the decision process. The implications of the results for the practice of risk management as well as theoretical study are discussed.View full abstract