Consensus Building for Environmental Issues: Marine Protected Areas as a Case Study

 

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2012, Volume 33

Courtney E. Richmond & Sarah E.Kolesar

Abstract

This paper describes the key components of a consensus-building activity on environmental issues; while we present one example, we describe how similar activities can be built around other environmental issues. The activity's primary goals are for students to build critical thinking skills solving real-world problems, and to appreciate the complexity of creating environmental policy given the often-difficult communication between scientists, policy-makers, resource managers, and the general public. Our case study concerns the creation of marine protected areas (MPAs), in which students negotiate the terms of use of an MPA while assuming the identities of individuals with interests in the use and/or protection of the MPA.

Keywords:  environmental studies, critical thinking skills, consensus building

New Mexico State University (2011)