Author／Yi Ling Roy Ngerng, Assistant Researcher, RSPRC
Shih Hsin University's Department of Public Relations & Advertising Professor Yie-Jing Yang, amd Risk Society and Policy Research Center (RSPRC) Director Professor Kuei-Tien Chou and Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. David Walther at the opening of the workshop (from left to right)
The Risk Society and Policy Research Center (RSPRC) has recently concluded a series of workshops on the risk governance of environmental protection, in collaboration with the Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau (TCSB), Environmental Protection Administration (EPA).
Two workshops were conducted, the 'Risk Governance and Sustainability Transitions workshops held in August and October 2020 to civil servants at the EPA over a four-day period, followed by the Media Risk Communication workshops in November 2020 to participants from Taoyuan's Department of Environmental Protection over two days, with each session attended by about 35 participants.
RSPRC's Assistant Researcher Yi-Yang Wang was the lead in organizing these workshops.
Workshop Objectives: Cross-Sector Collaboration to Enhance Informed Policy Development
The aims of these workshops are to equip civil servants with the ability to understand the transitions taking place in our society today, so that they would be able to develop better communication methods, as well as understand the how of incorporating public opinion into policy formulation.
These workshops are also intended to act as a bridge between the various experts in their fields, by bringing together civil servants skilled in policymaking, together with academics and non-governmental organizations, so that by putting heads together, it would be possible to explore the conflicts and deficiencies in environmental management policy planning and implementation, and to develop stronger responses.
Importantly, the workshops aimed to provide practical perspectives to enrich policy development. To do so, case studies from the 2014 Kaohsiung Gas Explosion were enlisted, to look at how policies could have been developed and implemented differently.
Workshop Format: Discussion-Style Sessions to Encourage Exchange of Viewpoints
To ensure practical exchanges could be more beneficial, the workshops were broken up into three-hourly workshops to encourage dialogue and discussions, with each workshop attended by seven to eight lecturers to provide expert knowledge. Participants were also broken up into discussion groups, where issues pertaining to cross-sectoral integration were discussed and shared to the participants.
Eight topics were covered in the workshops broadly divided into four themes:
- systemic governance and risk communication
- risk governance
- soil pollution prevention and control
- water pollution prevention and control
- air pollution prevention and control
- chemical safety and disaster prevention
- international climate governance and regulatory development
- sustainability transitions
- environmental monitoring, citizen science and regulatory science
- waste management and the circular economy
At the end of the workshops, participants were expected to strengthen their risk communication in order to facilitate sustainability transition and conduct effective risk governance, especially important with as Taiwan's society is undergoing various energy, industrial and societal transitions.
Facilitators from Various Disciplines and Sectoral Backgrounds to Enrich Practical Knowledge
A total of 22 facilitators were involved in conducting the workshops. Facilitators were identified from the various disciplines and sectors, so as to provide a diverse range and breadth with which to benefit the participants – they include RSPRC's director Professor Kuei-Tien Chou, Research Fellows Professor Wen-Ling Tu and Dr. Chia-Wei Chao, Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. David Walther and Predoctoral Fellow Forrest Lin.
Other facilitators include Assistant Professor Yu-Feng Wong from the Department of International Trade at the Shih Chien University, and Assistant Professor Wen-Ling Hong from the Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering and Professor Jian-Chuan Shern from the Department of Marine Environmental Engineering, both from the National at the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology
Representatives from non-governmental organizations, Min-ling Wang from Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan and Assistant Professor Han-lin Lee from the College of Social Sciences at the National Sun Yat-Sen University, and media representatives Jin-Fang Xie from Storm Media, were also invited to facilitate the sessions.