Bioforsk Report Vol. 5 No. (184) 2010 ISBN-nr: 978-82-17-00738-8 Project title: “Sediment and Society” Stakeholder Analysis in Bergen Harbor: Establishing a stakeholder group to address sediment impacts and solutions Udaya Sekhar Nagothu, Oen Amy, Sparrevik, Magnus, Barton, David Hovedkontor/Head office Bioforsk Jord og miljø Frederik A. Dahls vei 20 Frederik A. Dahls vei 20 N-1432 Ås N-1432 Ås Tel.: (+47) 40 60 41 00 Tel.: (+47) 40 60 41 00 [email protected] [email protected] Tittel/Title: Stakeholder Analysis in Bergen Harbor: Establishing a stakeholder group to address sediment impacts and solutions Forfatter(e)/Author(s): Udaya Sekhar Nagothu, Oen Amy, Sparrevik, Magnus, Barton, David Dato/Date: Tilgjengelighet/Availability: Prosjekt nr./Project No.: Saksnr./Archive No.: 02.12.10 Åpen 2110446 Rapport nr./Report No.: ISBN-nr./ISBN-no: Antall sider/Number of Antall vedlegg/Number of pages:22 appendices:1 /2010 ISBN-nr: 978-82-17-00738-8 Oppdragsgiver/Employer: National Geophysical Kontaktperson/Contact person: Udaya Sekhar Nagothu Institute/Research Council of Norway Stikkord/Keywords: Stakeholder Analysis, Sediment Fagområde/Field of work: Sediment, Stakeholder impacts, Bergen Fjord, Norway involvement Sammendrag: Summary: The importance of stakeholder involvement and using stakeholder experiences to address problems that they are directly concerned with or affected by, is becoming increasingly important in recent years. This report summarizes the activities initiated in the “Sediment and Society” research project to engage stakeholders in Bergen harbour who are mainly concerned with contamination of the sediments in Byfjorden and the various options available for remediation. A stakeholder analysis (SA) approach was used to map stakeholders in Bergen relevant for sediment remediation measures in the fjord, identify their interests establish a stakeholder panel. The 12 member stakeholder panel is well represented by stakeholders representing managers, users, researchers, non- governmental agencies and welfare organizations. A positive outcome of the stakeholder analysis process was the “transfer” of the stakeholder group from the Sediment and Society project to Bergen municipality. Overall, from our experience, engaging relevant stakeholders right from the beginning, keeping the process transparent and providing legitimacy to stakeholder group can be useful to address issues such as sediment contamination, develop more agreeable and practical solutions, and meaningful policies. Land/Country: Fylke/County: Norway Kommune/Municipality: Bergen Sted/Lokalitet: Godkjent / Approved Udaya Sekhar Nagothu Navn/name Navn/name Preface Stakeholder involvement in addressing problems related to natural resources management has been increasing both formally and through informal sources. In some countries, stakeholder and citizens involvement in addressing environmental and natural resource management problems has been made mandatory through legal provisions. Within EU there is now a growing tendency to promote stakeholder involvement in the WFD. In our project, though the response was moderate initially, we have seen an increased interest amongst stakeholders to take part in the discussions related to sediment issues within the Bergen Fjord. We have managed to establish a stakeholder panel within the project period, and currently they are being engaged by Bergen commune to discuss the various options/solutions to address the sediment problems. Contents Summary .................................................................................................................................... 3 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 4 2. Steps in Stakeholder Analysis ............................................................................................ 6 2.1 Stakeholder mapping/categorization based on influence and interest ......................... 6 2.2 Categorization of the stakeholders based on influence and interest ........................... 7 2.3 Stakeholder panel selection process .................................................................. 8 The selected stakeholder panel is as follows: ........................................................... 11 2.4 Guidelines/steps and timeline followed ........................................................... 12 3. Organizing stakeholder workshops .................................................................................. 13 4. Conclusions ...................................................................................................................... 15 5. References ........................................................................................................................ 17 Annexes .................................................................................................................................... 18 Forfatter. Bioforsk Rapport vol. X nr. YY 200Z 2 Summary The importance of stakeholder involvement and using stakeholder experiences to address problems that they are directly concerned with or affected by, is becoming increasingly important in recent years. This report summarizes the activities initiated in the “Sediment and Society” research project to engage stakeholders in Bergen harbour who are mainly concerned with contamination of the sediments in Byfjorden and the various options available for remediation. A stakeholder analysis (SA) approach was used to map stakeholders in Bergen relevant for sediment remediation measures in the fjord, identify their interests establish a stakeholder panel. The 12 member stakeholder panel is well represented by stakeholders representing managers, users, researchers, non- governmental agencies and welfare organizations. A positive outcome of the stakeholder analysis process was the “transfer” of the stakeholder group from the Sediment and Society project to Bergen municipality. Overall, from our experience, engaging relevant stakeholders right from the beginning, keeping the process transparent and providing legitimacy to stakeholder group can be useful to address issues such as sediment contamination, develop more agreeable and practical solutions, and meaningful policies. 1. Introduction The importance of stakeholder involvement and using stakeholder experiences to address problems that they are directly concerned with or affected by, is becoming increasingly important in recent years. In the EU region, there is an increasing focus on stakeholder involvement in management of natural resources, especially coastal ecosystems, lakes and rivers. At the EU level, efforts are being made to provide institutional and policy support for stakeholder involvement in water resources management. In Norway, the public are involved in taking decisions concerned with any major interventions such as changing the course of rivers, construction projects in natural areas. However, the stakeholders are not involved in the planning process, and in most cases their interests are not considered while planning such projects. Engaging stakeholders requires a good methodological approach that helps in bringing together the stakeholders, motivating them to actively participate and discuss the main concerns and ways to address them. This report summarizes the activities initiated in the “Sediment and Society” research project to engage stakeholders in Bergen harbour who are mainly concerned with contamination of the sediments in Byfjorden and the various options available for remediation. A stakeholder analysis (SA) approach was used to identify or map relevant stakeholders in Bergen relevant for sediment remediation measures in the fjord, identify their interests establish a stakeholder panel. “Stakeholder analysis can be defined as an approach for understanding a system by identifying the key actors or stakeholders in the system, and assessing their respective interest in that system” (Grimble et al. 1995, pp. 3–4). The importance of stakeholder analysis in understanding the complexity and compatibility problems between objectives and stakeholders was emphasized by Grimble and Wellard (1996). According to Pretty et.al. (1995) and Chambers (1997) stakeholder analysis is closely associated with participatory approaches and is often seen as a tool for effective management of natural resources through stakeholder participation. Stakeholder analysis is a useful tool in conflict management and has important roots in the social actor perspective in the sociology of development (Long, 1992). Stakeholders can be part of a management strategy if only they can agree on its Forfatter. Bioforsk Rapport vol. X nr. YY 200Z 4 goals, boundaries, membership, and usefulness (Röling and Wagemakers 1998). The first step thus in any SA is to identify the relevant stakeholders who would be involved in managing the problem or a system. In the “Sediment and Society” project (WP2), one of the tasks is to identify relevant stakeholders in Bergen Harbour, establish a stakeholder panel and use the panel in stakeholder mobilization. The question then is “Who is a stakeholder and in what situations is their role needed?”. Stakeholders are identified based on many factors. The most common methods include: the interest and influence of the stakeholder in the particular issue, or a resource. The knowledge about the system or resource and networks the stakeholder is involved within the system is valuable to the process. 2. Steps in Stakeholder Analysis