Risk Communication and Participation

Proper communication features multiple aetors. The U.S. National Research Council report (Stern and Fineberg 1996) is an important milestone in the reeog-nition of the need for risk decision making as an inclusive multi-actor process. It also was a germinal precursor to the idea of risk governance with its emphasis on 

With respect to technological risks, communication and participation are key to improved risk and crisis management as well as public acceptance of facilities and operations (Chakraborty 2011). Jacob Kringen (Chapter 11 in this volume) points out that the style of communication and inclusion defines much of what is known as regulatory style in the literature. This may vary between educational, accommodative, conciliatory, persuasive, insistent, and legalistic enforcement practices. Yet each of these styles demands a specific approach to internal and external communication and stakeholder involvement. 

Renn and colleagues, for example, interviewed major stakeholders for the Barents Sea oil exploration. As a result of major efforts to communicate with and involve major stakeholders, most respondents were quite convinced that the risk management efforts of the companies involved were sufficient. They did worry, however, about the sharing of benefits with the affected communities (Renn etal. 2013)  

None of the interviewed persons demanded a new risk reduction plan or a reappraisal of the risk in the aftermath of the accident at the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. They were convinced that the knowledge basis is sufficient to reach a positive judgment and that petroleum operations in these areas will not pose different challenges from those that the Norwegian public is familiar with further south. In contrast to the lack of ambiguity in the perception of risks, there was a 

Other examples, as outlined in this book, demonstrate that a lack of public involvement increases the feeling of distrust, which impedes crisis management eiforts in the cases of disasters or serious accidents. The less people are aware of and involved with potential crisis situations, the more one can expect that the extent of damage is more serious than necessary. 

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