How can we manage environmental conflicts that are increasing?
Joshua Fisher is the director of Columbia’s Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity.
Conflicts over environmental issues, such as land use and natural resource management, can often arise from divergent interests and values among stakeholders.Managing Environmental ConflictByJoshua FisherA research scientist atColumbia Climate SchoolThe book,, provides a primer on the causes and solutions of such conflicts. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the theory, practice, and principles of collaborative approaches for managing environmental disputes.
Fisher explains the core concepts of cooperative conflict management and provides a practical framework to understand and respond to environmental disputes.
He discusses the book togetherColumbia NewsHe also discusses his research and the work he does with Hiroshima University. He also discusses why he would like Carl Sagan to sit across from Confucius at dinner parties.
Q.What inspired you to write this novel?
A.Every day, we are bombarded with stories of conflict, polarization and the existential threats to biodiversity loss and climate change. There are many examples of people working together to solve problems and manage their natural environments, both built and natural.
As a research scientist working in biodiversity conservation and conflict management, I’ve learned from hundreds of organizations doing interesting, innovative, and effective work. This book was written to help people understand environmental conflicts and develop collaborative strategies to manage them.
Columbia News has the rest of the interview.
