However, well-planned stakeholder involvement improves the chances for the successful completion of a project. Stakeholder participation in decision making establishes a sense of ownership for all parties affected by a specific action, be it a program, a project, or a legal act. It provides for consensus building, and hence, social and political stability of decisions that affect the lives and interests of various individuals and entities. However, participatory processes must not perpetuate existing unequal relationships between stakeholders and decision makers. Dispute resolution among competing stakeholders, business, and government is critical to sustainability.
Conflict is costly and inefficient.
Effective dispute resolution, however, often requires that the playing field first be leveled through the empowerment of local populations. The awareness of the legal rights and economic options by marginal populations is critical to their participation in stakeholder processes and dispute resolution. Getting Started As we journey on the road to sustainability, certain difficult technical questions must be resolved. These questions were regularly asked by conference attendees. To these concerns, we currently have no definitive answers, but we have shown our points of agreement.