Successful examples of participatory regional planning at the meso-level; towards sustainable land use through negotiated conflict resolution

Six local examples, from four continents, of overcoming the contradictions between economic survival of farming communities and the need to stop environmental degradation are systematically analysed. For each case the perceptions are discussed, that stakeholders had of the problems at hand, along with the relations between the various categories of stakeholders. This is followed by a discussion of the negotiation process that took place between the stakeholders, including the role of initiators and mediators. Special attention is paid to the involvement of different knowledge systems in this process. Conclusions are drawn about conditions leading to success of the respective cases.