Deliverable 2.2 Report on Deliberative Process and Stakeholder Values

This Deliverable led by University College Dublin explains the process of deliberation, its benefits, how to go about it, and how it is being applied in the project Action Sites.

Deliberation is typically undertaken using group-based workshops. For the purposes of supporting the wetland restoration goals of the project, the intention is that deliberation provides local people and stakeholders with essential information on the proposed interventions and the expected benefits, and in some cases, any negative impacts, most usually ones of a temporal nature.

Section 1 of this deliverable explains the objectives behind deliberation and is followed by Section 2, which sets out the benefits of the method for social engagement and learning in more detail.

Section 3 describes the methodology and how a typical deliberation exercise could proceed, while noting that actual applications have to be adapted to each local context.

Section 4 provides a summary of the Action Site applications, describing the different approaches taken, the lessons learnt, the importance placed on ecosystem services, and the values that were explored or shown to be present, before discussing what this means for the restoration.

The final Sections are the reports from the Action Sites themselves. These show how small group workshops and walks are being used in the Action Site of the Great North Bog to engage with landowners and farmers in northern England to understand what it is they value about the land and the landscape as a means to inform how blanket bog restoration can best proceed.

Read this Deliverable in full if you are:

• a policymaker or decisionmaker who would like guidance in shaping environmental policies related to wetland restoration.
• an environmental manager, monitoring manager or restoration practitioner who would like concrete actions and recommendations for improving governance of a wetland restoration project.
• a member of a local community who would like to better understand governance structures and your role in the process.