Public participation and stakeholder dialogues are not new issues in environmental decision-making processes. Nevertheless, this publication attempts to contribute new ideas to the broad range of existing literature. First, the volume discusses three different arenas, science, politics and management, in which stakeholder dialogues are used as a tool for communication and decision-making. Second, as the editors explain in their introductory chapter, the book attempts to provide a theoretical framework that may be used ‘in guiding practice and in tool development’.

In the second chapter, Welp and Stoll-Kleemann introduce their Integrative Theory of Reflexive Dialogues, which combines elements of diverse fields of social theory, including social psychology, theories of organizational learning and formal approaches to modelling. Although the authors say that phenomena like ‘culture’ are important for the understanding of the dynamics of participation, their theory obviously has its roots in individualistic concepts of rational choice. Berghoefer and Berhoefer choose a completely different approach to the ‘truism’ of participation. Coming from the tradition of development thinking, they have a view of both sides, both the stacks of development papers that present participation as the ‘magic bullet’ that leaves only winners in the game as well as the huge number of disappointments when participation in practice turned out to be just another empty ‘buzz word’. Clearly, the strength of this chapter is more in the important questions it asks than in its answers. In the chapter that follows, Oels asks how the success of participation and stakeholder dialogues could be evaluated. Special attention is given to the different approaches to identifying appropriate criteria for evaluation (theory-based, user-based, or goal-free). Presenting the main findings of her collection of evaluations, one result could disquiet those involved in and dedicated to stakeholder involvement: the most important factor in the failure of stakeholder dialogues may be the lack of implementation of the outcomes, a deficit that lies outside of the actual participation process. The next two chapters take a more practical view on the subject. Scheffran presents a collection of useful tools for the involvement of stakeholders, while Maarleveld et al. show how geo-information systems could be used in stakeholder dialogues as a visualization tool for different scenarios.

In its second half, the volume offers a number of illustrative case studies that cover a wide range of different scenarios. Welp et al. report on their experiences with science-based stakeholder dialogues initiated by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Change (PIK) which brought together scientists from different disciplines to exchange their views on the effects of global climate change. Hellström recounts the establishment of the Forest Biodiversity Programme in Finland, which consulted ecologists alongside representatives of economic and social interests to construct a new bridge between politics and science. Using the example of site selection for the Natura 2000 network, Eben explains how difficult it can be to regain trust among stakeholders where there was once a long tradition of authoritarian decision-making in environmental policy. Three examples from developing countries conclude the section of case studies. Sturm and Riviera show how participation in the Machalilla National Park in Ecuador was restricted to the mere passing on of information to the local population because politicians and planers were not willing to give up their power. In another case study from Ecuador, Linke comments on a successful community forest management project in Esmeraldas, where a forum for constructive dialogue between non-governmental organizations, planning agencies, foreign development organizations, timber companies and the Catholic Church was established. ‘Africa works’ is the positive conclusion that Averbeck finally draws from her experiences with the participation process in the founding of Lake Mburo National Park (Uganda). Most importantly, this last project was successful in creating not only involvement, but also commitment among the stakeholders.

In the concluding chapter, Stoll-Kleemann and Welp wrap up these different case studies under the umbrella of their Integrative Theory of Reflexive Dialogues. By doing so, they realize the particular promise of this book: to combine a great diversity of settings and case studies with a consistent theoretical framework of stakeholder dialogues. Thus, a broad audience will find this book valuable: practitioners from resource management will gain from the great variety of experiences and ideas, while social scientists engaged in theoretical reflection on environmental planning will find an interesting starting point for further investigation and debate.