Accommodating negotiation in environmental impact assessment and project approval processes

There is an increasing interest, both at home and overseas, in encouraging "mediation" or "negotiated settlements" between the parties to administrative appeals before a case is called on for hearing. On the credit side, this may save time and costs associated with a hearing, though it will not necessarily result in a better decision in the public (as opposed to private) interest. In this article the author examines whether mediation has any role to play in techniques for the environmental assessment of projects.