| This conference paper deals with
various provisions of the Water Management Act 2000 (NSW) (WMA)
which institutionalise, or attempt to resolve, conflict over water.
The basic premise adopted is that for water conflict to be resolved
there should be adequate access to information, real opportunities
to participate in decision-making processes and proper recourse to
legal remedies. Conflict resolution and participatory theory are
used to analyse the difficulties that are inherent in the Act
and, where appropriate, to suggest a possible way forward.
Conflict is institutionalised by the Act with respect to
the water management planning process. The Act brings
together various parties which have been identified as interested
and affected parties in the forum of a water management committee (WMA
s. 13). The Act then describes the functions of the
committees (WMA s. 14) and their procedures (Schedule 6, Part 2).
The members of the committee are directed to ‘strive for consensus
in reaching decisions’. Given the level of conflict inherent in
the management committees, it is surprising that a process of
facilitation or mediation of interests is not prescribed. Will the
Chairperson be trained in conflict resolution skills? How will power
imbalances within the committees be managed? What level of
assistance will be given to members of the committee who struggle to
digest the technical and scientific data with which they must deal.
Is the taking of decisions by the casting of a majority vote a
justifiable mechanism for resolving such conflict?
The paper goes on to suggest the use of mediation or facilitation
to assist with the making of management plans in the interest of
sustainable water management. |
|
Rosemary Lyster
BA, LLB, LLM (University of Natal, South Africa)
Senior lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Sydney
Consultant, PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal
Rosemary Lyster is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Law, The
University of Sydney and a consultant to the Environment Group at
PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal. She specialises in environmental law,
administrative law and dispute resolution and has published widely
in these fields. She is the principal author of David Farrier,
Rosemary Lyster, Linda Pearson, Zada Lipman The Environmental Law
Handbook (3rd edition), Redfern Legal Centre Publishing,
1999. In the field of environmental law, Rosemary’s research
interests include privatisation and corporatisation, ecofeminist
theory, energy law, water law, environmental rights, and
environmental dispute resolution. |
