ReefStakeholders
From coraldigest
Who are the key Stakeholders?
What is a stakeholder?
- In order for an ecosystem based management plan to be successful, a wide range of stakeholders must be involved and work towards a common goal. A stakeholder is anyone that has an interest in the current topic and wants to participate in the decision making process. This can be people that live or work near a specific ecosystem, those who are interested in an area’s resources for use or nonuse, people who pay bills that are concerned about how their money will be spent, and people who represent citizens or are legally responsible for public resources.[1]
About stakeholder involvement
- While including all potential stakeholders in all aspects of the decision making process is impossible, it is necessary that all who are interested are allowed to participate in ecosystem management. While the inclusion of multiple stakeholders likely means that conflict will occur due to opposing viewpoints, the challenge of effective stakeholder involvement is to help these people understand their common goals and ultimately work together. Public involvement should also include a diversity of representation. This means that stakeholders need to embody the various interests of the community. For example, a management plan concerning a forest should not just include foresters. It should also incorporate recreationists, hunters, local landowners, and scientists just to name a few.[1]