International Programme for the Management of Sustainability, with Lawrence Susskind
Ten-party, multi-issue negotiation among government, development, industry, labor, and preservation interests over port improvements, real-estate development, and environmental protection in a Caribbean island harbor expansion
SCENARIO:
The city of Hitana lies next to Hitana Bay on the Caribbean island of Barhamia. The government of Hitana is currently considering several redevelopment proposals for the region. The Port Authority and major shippers are urging improvements to the deep-water port; the City of Hitana and a private real estate partnership seek to redevelop the warehouse district for business, commercial, and residential use; and the nongovernmental Coalition for Hitana Bay Heritage proposes to take environmental protection measures around Hitana Bay.
The Prime Minister's Office has convened a Task Force that includes representatives of the ten major groups involved in, and potentially affected by, the proposed projects. The ten representatives include the Prime Minister's Special Assistant for Economic Development, the Deputy Minister of Environment for Coastal Zone Management, the Director of the Port Authority of Hitana, the Director of the City of Hitana Planning Offic, the Executive Vice-President of Harborside Properties Group, the Executive Director of the Coalition for Hitana Bay Heritage, the Vice-President for International Trade of the Barhamia Chamber of Commerce, the President of the Port of Hitana Workers Union, the Director of the Hitana Bay Fishermen's Federation, and the International Waters Division Chief of the Global Environment Fund.
This simulation is designed to include pre-meeting caucuses among selected Task Force members, an initial round of Task Force negotiations, and a final round of Task Force negotiations.
MAJOR LESSONS:
- Introduces participants to the challenge of integrating economic, environmental, and social goals at the project level
- Raises questions of whether and how multi-stakeholder representation can work in social and political contexts where pluralistic decisionmaking is not the norm
- Raises questions about the dynamics of multi-stakeholder representation where some interest group have weaker social organization and political representation than others
- Illustrates the importance of individual preparation and group process to the outcome of multi-stakeholder negotiations
- Encourages participants to experiment with "mutual gains" strategies such as distinguishing interests from positions; using joint-fact finding to clarify issues and options; using "what-if" proposals to develop mutually acceptable options; building and broadening coalitions in the search for consensus; and crafting contingent agreements to manage differences in beliefs about the likelihood and impact of various possible outcomes.
MECHANICS:
Participants are required to absorb a large amount of technical information in order to play this game. The game itself requires approximately 8 hours to prepare, play, and debrief. It is suggested that the game be run over 2 days.
TEACHING MATERIALS:
- very extensive teaching notes
- debrief notes
- a spreadsheet (provided electronically) for debriefing
- in depth confidential instructions for 10 different roles
- the teaching package contains a total of 131 pages
KEYWORDS:
Sustainable development; international negotiation; environmental dispute resolution; consensus building; multi-party negotiation; joint fact finding; corporate assisted negotiation.
SIMILAR SIMULATIONS:
Managing Groundwater Beneath the Pablo-Burford Border
Hitana Bay Development Simulation Attributes
| Time required: | 5 or more hours |
|---|---|
| Number of participants: | 10 |
| Teams involved: | No |
| Agent present: | None |
| Neutral third party present: | None |
| Scoreable: | Yes |
| Teaching notes available: | Yes |
