A Consensus-Building Support System for Water Environment Governance Based on Multi-Criteria Decision Making

Abstract

In this study, we propose a consensus-building support system to engage various stakeholders, transparently disseminate information, ensure objective decision-making, and reflect the view of each stakeholder as a methodology or tool for resolving conflicts that may arise in the process of implementing water environment policies and plans. The system suggests ways to resolve issues by engaging all interested actors and not just a few influential groups of stakeholders imposing their solutions upon local users. The system provides an environment where stakeholders can find solutions to conflicts through their own efforts, mediating competing interests through the interactions such as negotiations and conciliation to reach a consensus. To verify the applicability of the proposed consensus-building support system, simulated role-playing albeit restricted was conducted on the case of the Hantangang Dam construction. The simulation validated that open discussions and negotiations with the local community or NGO by the government increased the efficacy of negotiations.