Media and social licence: on being publicly useful in the Tasmanian forests conflict

Lester, Libby

doi:10.1093/forestry/cpw015

Cited by 30 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…SLO is perceived to be about justice, i.e., responsibility, impact, standing, and interest, and it is embedded within an "inescapably discursive" process (Lester 2016). Further, it is decidedly unclear how meaningful dialogue, which SLO is The top section represents the current situation and the bottom section represents the situation to build toward in which the need for social licence is replaced.…”

Section: Overview Of Slomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When approvals for developments are submitted to governing agencies, the steps and requirements of potential approvals need to be outlined clearly so that stakeholders with an interest in the development can independently assess whether appropriate and just procedures are being followed. Looking again at our Tasmanian example, an approval process associated with a pulp mill proposal in the north of the island in 2013 evolved into a SLO debacle (Lester 2016). Instead of revealing the project approval process to the public and other proponents, the project was removed from the independent assessment process of the Resource Planning and Development Commission (RPDC), and assessment and project-specific, i.e., less transparent, legislation was politically approved without any public input (http://www.…”

Section: Transparent Regulatory Approval Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…parliament.tas.gov.au/bills/Bills2014/1_of_2014.htm). Subsequent assessment by the government provoked suspicion around the process and it was perceived to be opaque to scrutiny, as well as politically biased (Lester 2016). Dubious alliances between the government and proponents further deepened this SLO controversy.…”

Section: Transparent Regulatory Approval Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The emergence of social licence necessitates reforms in environmental regulation

Putten¹,

Cvitanovic²,

Fulton³

et al. 2018

E&S

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ABSTRACT. The term "social licence to operate" (SLO), popularized in corporate usage over the last 20 years, is frequently used to refer to the level of social approval that exists in relation to the development of natural resources for private or public purposes. However, the theoretical and practical utility of the concept remains contested and it is often used opportunistically to advance individual agendas. Moreover, it remains difficult to assess how an adequate level of SLO can be transparently assessed, or how dialogue can be appropriately achieved. In this paper we argue that the increasing use of the SLO concept is an indication that trust in, and the legitimacy of, formal regulatory processes for natural resource management has eroded and needs to be reimagined. In response, we outline five principles that provide pathways to increase the legitimacy of, and trust in, regulatory approval processes: (i) clear regulatory objectives; (ii) transparent regulatory approval processes; (iii) clear pathways for appeals and reviews of regulatory decisions (iv) early and inclusive collaborative consultation process; and (v) independence of decision-making authorities. By rethinking the basic principles of regulatory and licencing processes in natural resource management, our five principles aim to reduce the need for SLO. This could minimize erratic decision making and inequitable approval processes that are driven by a perceived need for SLO, often only for the corporate sector, which risks the voices of other stakeholders being unevenly represented. We draw upon natural resource management experiences from Tasmania, Australia as illustrative examples to stimulate a discussion on the usefulness of SLO and the need for improved approaches to natural resource management.

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Section: Overview Of Slomentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Transparent Regulatory Approval Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Transparent Regulatory Approval Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The emergence of social licence necessitates reforms in environmental regulation

Putten¹,

Cvitanovic²,

Fulton³

et al. 2018

E&S

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“…Public opinion influences decision-makers by demonstrating whether a proposed land use change is considered socially acceptable (Capstick et al 2015;Druckman et al 2012;Dunlap 1991;Liu et al 2014), and can be the cause for significant alteration, including rejection, of proposed land use changes (Lyytimäki and Peltonen 2016). There are legitimate critiques about the limitations of considering the citizenry to be a homogeneous entity (Lester 2016). Despite this, public opinion is routinely assessed by polling, where the citizenry's sentiment is reported in terms of percent in support for or opposition to a proposal or policy (Boulus and Dowding 2014;Brulle et al 2012;Capstick et al 2015;Dunlap 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Public opinion is informed by the news media (Andsager 2000;Boulus and Dowding 2014;Corbett 2015;Lester 2016;Lyytimäki and Peltonen 2016;Neresini and Lorenzet 2016). This is the arena where emergent issues are defined, and understandings of issues are shaped (Boulus and Dowding 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The social identity approach to understanding stakeholder conflict in environmental and natural resources management

Colvin¹

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Conflict between stakeholders about environmental and natural resources management (ENRM) issues is a significant challenge for achieving sustainable outcomes for people and the environment.Although conflict can be a constructive and important part of deliberative processes, ENRM routinely experiences dysfunctional conflict, where people involved focus on their perceived incompatibilities rather than finding solutions for the problem. This form of dysfunctional conflict leads to decision-making stagnation and exacerbation of issues which require timely management.The self-perpetuating nature of conflict means that relationships between people and groups become strained, and the potential for cooperation and compromise is undermined. In ENRM, conflict is addressed, often implicitly, through the practice of stakeholder engagement. Although advancements have been made on stakeholder engagement processes through both research and practice, conflict continues to manifest in ENRM issues.This thesis investigates ENRM conflict through analysing the contribution of ENRM stakeholder engagement practice to the prevalence of dysfunctional conflict. In order to understand the hidden complexities and drivers of conflict, the social identity approach has been applied as a theoretical lens. The social identity approach is a theoretical perspective from social psychology which explains how people become members of groups, and how groups interact. As such it is well suited to a study of ENRM conflict, where the heart of the conflict is how groups of people -stakeholders -interact with each other.First, the thesis outlines the theoretical basis for the interest in ENRM conflict, and makes a case for both why stakeholder engagement processes are a critical aspect of conflict which are worthy of investigation, and why the social identity approach is a useful theoretical lens. Following this, a theory building approach to integration of the literature across disciplines is used to present a way of understanding the human dimension of ENRM conflict, and the argument is made for the use of the social identity approach. As a result, a clear distinction is made between 'stakeholders' and 'the citizenry', where stakeholders are formalised groups with a defined interest, and the citizenry is everyone else. An integrative conceptual model for ENRM conflict is created, and is analysed with the application of the social identity approach.Next, the thesis examines the processes taken by ENRM practitioners to identify stakeholders, thereby filling a recognised gap in the literature. This is undertaken with the use of semi-structured interviews with experienced ENRM practitioners, analysed qualitatively. As a result, a typology of approaches to identification of stakeholders is presented, and the previously proposed distinction iii between stakeholders and the citizenry is shown to be reflective of how practitioners categorise people in the context of ENRM issues.The thesis then investigates a case study of a large-scale wind energy d...

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Contemporary Challenges in Environmental Governance: Technology, governance and the social licence

et al. 2016

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The process through which societal actors can exert direct influence on the behaviour of organizations has gained increasing attention over the past two decades and is increasingly referred to as 'social licence' or 'social licence to operate'. This paper documents the rise of social licence and analyses the relationship between information and communication technology (ICT), governance and the social licence. We argue that contemporary social licence and the increasingly prominent role societal actors have in private governance has been facilitated by technological innovation in the fields of media and communications, allowing interest groups to have a far greater reach, and direct interaction and engagement with the public, other interest groups and the industries concerned. Now, a larger population can rapidly contest traditional practices regardless of national borders, the issue concerned or the actors involved. The unpredictable, dynamic and subjective nature of social licence has prompted concerns regarding legitimacy of stakeholders, the information they disseminate and outcomes they promote. Subsequently, in an attempt to maintain political and corporate legitimacy, business interests are demanding more adaptable regulatory regimes. These political dynamics are resulting in the proliferation of network style governance that can adapt and cope with changing information, attitudes, values and beliefs. As a result a new era of experimentation and trialling alternative governance regimes has been born.

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Media and social licence: on being publicly useful in the Tasmanian forests conflict

Cited by 30 publications

References 25 publications

The emergence of social licence necessitates reforms in environmental regulation

The emergence of social licence necessitates reforms in environmental regulation

The social identity approach to understanding stakeholder conflict in environmental and natural resources management

Contemporary Challenges in Environmental Governance: Technology, governance and the social licence

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