Towards a Theory of Environmental Dispute Resolution

Almost every effort to protect or enhance environmental quality is perceived as a challenge, at least at the outset, by groups or individuals whose economic self-interest-or political beliefs-are threatened. 1 Similarly, almost every attempt to promote economic development or technological innovation is viewed as a potential insult to the quality of the natural environment or a threat to the delicate "ecological balance" upon which we all depend.2 Environmental and developmental interests, if the shorthand is permissible, are locked in a fierce and widening battle.