Striving for unanimity and consensus: finding the common ground in conflict over riparian management

Dealing with natural resources conflicts creates an uncomfortable situation for many people. To successfully deal with the conflicts associated with riparian-area management, four points must be addressed: paradigms, strategic planning, decision-making, and implementation and monitoring. The paradigms of everyone involved in the resolution of the conflict must be understood. Strategic planning helps find the common ground of the people involved and reduces the misunderstandings. The decision-making method provides a mechanism to ensure that goals are addressed. Implementation of the decision is required but must be followed with monitoring. Monitoring ensures that the goals are met and that the plan is adjusted appropriately when the goals are not being met. These four areas help reduce the conflicts among people associated with riparian management by helping produce win/win agreements.