Māori and 1080
Reference as: Chrys Horn & Margaret Kilvington (2002) Māori and 1080. [Landcare Research] URL http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/social/1080.asp [Last accessed: Thursday, 9 February 2012]
Contents:
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Methods
- Perceived control
- Arguments about 1080
- Information-consultation-participation
- What happens in examples of good consultation?
- Entry – beginning a Relationship
- Accessing relevant data and knowledge
- Community dialogue
- Implementation & monitoring
- When things go wrong
- Conclusions & recommendations
- References
- Acknowledgements
Abstract
The toxin 1080 is used in New Zealand for the control of the introduced marsupial the brushtailed possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) for conservation purposes and for controlling the effects of Bovine Tuberculosis. The use of this poison is controversial. This report outlines a research project aimed at understanding how the quality of consultation processes affects the way that Māori communities deal with the use of 1080 in their local areas.
Māori differ little to Pākehā in their range of views on the use of toxins in their local environments. On the whole, few people whether Māori or Pākehā, are comfortable when toxins such as 1080 are aerially dropped in their local area, particularly when they take water from that area. For the community groups involved, it appears the issue is not purely about the use of 1080. Rather it is about the level of control local people feel they have over their own local environment.
Authorities or people representing them must involve iwi and try to increase their sense of control. This means that they must work on their relationships with iwi and see these interactions as part of an ongoing process. Public controversy is less likely to constrain pest control operations if agencies manage pests in partnership with the appropriate iwi group. In a true partnership situation, agency representatives must respond honestly to the requests of the community and the community need to feel that the agency hears and responds to their concerns. Overall, it appears many agency representatives may need assistance with the communication processes involved in developing partnerships with iwi (or indeed any other community group). In particular it is important that representatives distinguish between informing groups and working with them in a partnership situation.
Introduction
In New Zealand at the current time the naturally occurring poison monofluoroacetate, known as 1080, is used in the control of possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) – a pest mammal that was first introduced to New Zealand from Australia in 1937. Since that time, the possum has thrived, and in doing so now poses a significant threat to both native plants and birds because of the food that it seeks out in the New Zealand environment. The brushtailed possum also acts as a vector for BovineTb – an organism which poses a threat to New Zealand’s meat industry. Thus, possum control in New Zealand is carried out by two government agencies: the Department of Conservation (DOC) who are charged with managing native biodiversity and ecosystems, and the Animal Health Board (AHB) who are charged with managing and eradicating bovine Tb.
Aerial application of 1080 to control possum populations continues to be hugely controversial, with strong opposition from a wide range of individuals and community groups. Many Māori also oppose the use of 1080 but some iwi or hapu groups at least agree to the tool being used within their rohe or tribal area.
Overall, the arguments about 1080 within the Māori community are broadly similar to those in non-Māori New Zealand communities. There is no single Māori view of 1080 – some feel the use of 1080 is justified and others feel it is a threat to some aspect of their lives. For example, Māori who hunt do not like to see deer killed by baits dropped for possums. Others are upset by the potential threat to native birds and the danger to dogs when 1080 poison is used. Likewise, its potential effect on water supplies and human health are an issue.
However Māori concerns can differ from those of Pākehā to some degree. For example, their concern for the potential loss of native birds may reflect a worry about the loss of cultural harvest potential. Similarly, Māori sometimes talk about their concerns in terms of a set of spiritual principles that underlie an objection to using poison extensively in the environment. However, similar sentiments associated with the principles of caring for the earth also exist within Pākehā groups.
This report summarises a research project undertaken in mid 2002 that aimed to determine what communication processes had been used where local iwi had agreed to the use of 1080. We hoped that understanding how agreement had been achieved would provide a model for improving consultative processes in other areas, which in turn might help to reduce the conflict surrounding the use of this technology.
This research goal is based on two premises. First, gaining agreement from iwi to use 1080 is about building trust. Second, improved consultation processes offer a way forward in gaining that trust. The fact that the debate over 1080 continues despite a substantial research effort to determine the safety and effectiveness of 1080 highlights that such research is, by itself, not sufficient to allay community and iwi concerns. We consider that non-expert iwi and community groups need to feel that their concerns are being addressed. The question is how that need is best addressed, thus we focused attention where the agencies involved had managed to complete a large scale possum control operation using 1080 without major public outcry.
Methods
We used a range of qualitative methods to study the consultation processes and the resulting experiences of a range of Māori communities. This included a review of 1080 literature (of which little outlined attitudes towards 1080 or communication processes surrounding it), some exploration of literature pertaining to risk management and psychological control, newspaper articles reporting local debates about the use of 1080. Following this, we attended a hui, and had discussions with individual Māori, regional council staff, DOC staff, researchers, facilitators, people contracted to do AHB related work, and iwi representatives. Respondents are not mentioned by name, except where we have used quotes from published articles.
Perceived control
Perceived control is an important aspect of human psychology and community adaptation to change and adversity (Berno 1995; Lefcourt 1992; Wong 1993). The concept provides the basis for endeavours such as science, which is essentially aimed at trying to make the world more predictable by increasing our understanding of it. As human beings, our perceived control increases with our ability to predict and understand the processes in which we are most interested.
There are two aspects to perceived control. The first is a sense that one can directly control outcomes in which one has an interest. In the case of using 1080 to control pests, community members’ perceived control might come from feeling they can affect the outcome. The second is indirect control, which is exercised by knowing how to adapt. While individuals may not be able to manipulate the world directly, they can still affect outcomes by changing how they interpret what is going on (which may lead different ways of acting). For example, changing from convincing communities about the merits of 1080 to convincing them of the merits of pest control, or of the merits of eradicating Tb, offers some new ways to address the problem. By considering the issue of pest control, a community may be able to take a more positive approach to finding a solution, which may or may not include the use of 1080. This approach offers communities some element of choice, which can increase their level of perceived control (Lefcourt 1992).
Social support and trust are important factors in helping people feel they have some control over outcomes in their environment. These are built largely on mutual respect, which changes nothing physically in the environment but instead offers a sense of solidarity – something that Hirsch (1981) found was central to the ability of individuals to adapt to life stresses in general. For authorities to get support from communities, they must first support those communities. Dismissing a community’s views as irrational, or imposing unpopular measures on them, is not supportive and undermines trust. Community members then have a tendency to dismiss the views of the offending authority. This mirroring phenomenon appears to happen often at many levels of human interaction.
Perceived efficacy is an element in both direct and indirect control; it is the confidence people have in their ability to cope with an undesired change or to effect a desired one. Knowing that one has the ability and tools to help control or adapt to situations effectively offers another way of managing undesirable situations. Interestingly, it appears that it is the element of choice that is important rather than the quality of the options. Even an unpalatable alternative can help an individual adapt more positively to bad situations (Lefcourt 1992). Also, as Lefcourt (1992) and Langer (1989) observe, individuals can maintain an element of control by considering different ways of thinking about a situation. Thus, providing a community with little or no choice diminishes their perceived control, while providing strategies that offer more choices increases their perceived control. Providing such choices also helps build trust between the agency and the groups involved in the consultation process.
Arguments about 1080
The arguments for and against 1080 surface again and again as different groups go over the same ground when faced with aerial 1080 drops in “their” areas. Table 1 summarises some of the most commonly debated points.
Table 1: Arguments surrounding 1080.
| Arguments against 1080 use | Arguments for 1080 use |
| It gets into the water supply | It breaks down quickly in water |
| It kills deer and that interferes with hunting | It kills deer and that is a bonus |
| It kills native birds | It allows native bird populations to increase in the long term |
| It kills dogs | Dogs can be kept under control when 1080 is laid |
| New Zealand uses 85% of the world’s 1080 – that can’t be good | Most other places in the world can’t use 1080 because they have native mammals |
| There is no known antidote | There is now |
| We do not know the cumulative effects of 1080 | 1080 does not accumulate |
| Dropping 1080 from the air is too indiscriminate | Dropping 1080 from the air is the most cost-effective method we have for killing possums |
| 1080 found in carcasses could pose a threat to our meat exports | The threat that Tb poses in lost agricultural earnings is bigger and more likely than the threat 1080 poses |
| Our use of 1080 threatens our “100% pure,” clean and green image | We use much less 1080 now so there is less unintended impact |
| We need jobs. Bring back the bounty | The bounty does not get possum numbers low enough |
| We are not considering the alternatives | There are few alternatives |
A similar range of arguments can be heard within the Māori community and the range of opinions is just as broad amongst Māori across the country. As an individual from Ngai Tahu commented:
Every runanga seems to have a different point of view. There is no single “Ngai Tahu” view of the use of 1080.
It would be fair to say that, as a whole, Māori prefer not to use poisons as a matter of principle. However, given the nature of the pest problem, issues associated with Tb, and the health of native species such as kukupa /kereru, and kiwi, the issues are not simple. Each community facing these issues needs to discuss and debate the costs and benefits of the use of 1080 and other pest control options.
The people opposed to 1080 appear to fall into four main groups – a fact confirmed by individuals involved in consultation processes associated with its use.
- Recreational hunters who feel their activities are being threatened
by the non-target deaths of deer, and who as one respondent put it,
will “use any other effects such as bird deaths and poison in
waterways to get traction on the issue.”
- Another group are unhappy about using toxins because of the often
unknown effect on the environment and the risks to human Health. They
regard it as worse when 1080 is dropped aerially because they feel there
is much less control over the poison than when bait stations are used.
- Dog owners who fear for their animals because 1080 is highly toxic
to dogs
- People who feel that in some consultation processes “the government,” DOC or the AHB is imposing on them and their local area. This is particularly true where there is little possibility for communities to influence the decisions that are made about possum control.
Māori (and others) weigh up the arguments about 1080 according to their value systems, the information resources to which they have access, the level of trust they have in those information sources, and the way in which consultation processes allow for discussion of, and learning about, the issues. As a respondent involved with communication mentioned:
It’s hard to progress a debate by arguing about science. It’s better not to argue about 1080, but to talk instead about the values at stake and to look at the big picture.
For example, some arguments are based on how different individuals rate the importance of native biodiversity versus wanting to be able to hunt in an area. But even this is not a simple classification, because to some environmentalists, the use of a poison might be rated as a greater environmental concern than the concerns about biodiversity. It is therefore possible for people with strong environmental concerns to end up on different sides of the argument.
The method of laying the poison affects the level of opposition. Respondents viewed aerial drops of 1080 less positively than 1080 laid using bait stations. This can be explained by suggesting that people feel aerial drops are less controlled than using bait stations. It is also likely that while 1080 is the focus of contention at present, the widespread use of any poison would engender similar responses from people faced with having that poison laid in their area, particularly if dropped aerially. Our discussions indicate that the main reason 1080 is currently picked out as the problem is because it is the poison most commonly used in large-scale aerial operations.
Another possible factor contributing to a dislike of 1080 is its restricted availability, which may increase the level of risk that people perceive. When an agency uses it widely throughout the local environment, it seems all the worse. Poisons such as brodifacoum are more familiar and therefore less threatening and dangerous – even though their behaviour and longevity in an ecosystem may be more problematic. The greater the level of familiarity, the greater the level of perceived control.
Information-consultation-participation
You have to decide carefully whether you are in fact “informing” or “consulting”. A lot of people fall into the trap of saying they are consulting when in fact they are really informing and then they get into the poo (DOC Communications person).
Consulting and informing are different processes that are not always distinguished. In fact they form part of a continuum (Arnstein 1969). Of particular interest in the 1080 debate are informing, consultation and partnership processes. All three can be used successfully, but they are not interchangeable.
Informing is essentially a one-way process in which decisions are made by an agency and then the community is told about them.
Consulting involves an agency collecting information from a community and using it to then make a decision.
Partnership involves community groups and agencies working together to jointly make a decision.
From the experiences of our informants, informing communities who have no previous relationship with the agencies running pest control operations is unlikely to result in constructive outcomes. Thus, the way in which an agency engages with a community depends on that agency’s history of interacting with that community. However, where a partnership already exists and where there is mutual trust and clear relationship, informing may be adequate. Without trust and an established relationship, informing can increase a community’s distrust of an agency.
People involved in “successful” consultation processes with Māori (and indeed with other community groups) noted the need to go out to the marae or into the local community to talk to people face to face. Overall, they suggested that most people do not like to read and write submissions. It appears that in many of the cases that have hit the media, “consultation” has been more about informing groups of what is happening, than about working with groups to agree on the need for pest control and then work out how best to achieve it.
Two respondents with extensive experience mentioned they had made mistakes in the past by trying to inform and convince communities, rather than consulting those groups and listening to their concerns. Listening to the concerns of Māori and working with them to find out how those concerns might be addressed, are an important part of developing a working relationship. This is illustrated by the example below outlined in a newspaper:
The consultation for the Puketi operation [a successful possum control operation involving 1080 and other poisons], which involved processes such as ongoing meetings, provision of information and visits to schools, had been very successful and DOC had the full support of local Māori, the Piki Aroha Marae Committee. Puketi kaumatua were pleased possum numbers were dropping, and that local people were involved in protecting the native bush. (Dalton 2000)
Clearly, this operation involved ongoing dialogue between DOC and the local community. Such dialogue takes time. It appears that most successful operations in “new” areas, where an agency is driving the use of 1080, have a lead-in time of at least a year from the plan to control pests through to the actual control operation.
In building a relationship this way, an agency begins the process of building trust. However, trust is about relationships between people rather than between agencies. In this case, the two main agencies are markedly different. DOC is represented by local staff who live in the area, whereas the AHB does not have a local presence.
Some respondents mentioned that part of the problem with AHB-related pest control is that no one really knows who the AHB are so it is difficult to build a relationship with them.
… It is difficult to know who the AHB actually are. They are based in Wellington and contract all their work out, so they are a faceless, nameless group of people and the Runanga end up dealing with all sorts of different people who are acting in the name of the AHB, but there is no clear relationship between Iwi and the AHB.
A major difficulty in contracting out pest control is that the contractor has no mandate to change what they are doing. The decisions have been made some distance up a chain of contractual relationships. Community groups in Southland, for example, have little or no access to the people who decided on the pest control operations there. As one Iwi representative said of an operation that had “gone wrong”:
The AHB decided that they wanted to do a 1080 drop and consulted with local Māori although not in a particularly good way and the AHB themselves admit this. Generally, they decide what needs to be done, where and when and they contract it out by tender and the tenderer does the consultation. This puts the contractor between a rock and a hard place because they already know what they have to achieve and how much they have to spend and so they are caught needing to fulfil the needs of the AHB and at the same time trying to consult with the community. There is no room for any flexibility.
Contractors appear to range widely in their approach to consultation. As one repondent noted, without some national-level strategy for managing consultation processes, the good work that occurs at one location can be diminished by problems occurring in another. When trouble flares, 1080 gets back into the news across the country and so does the agency involved. While objections may be localised, adverse publicity can affect other communities and add to a wider public climate of mistrust.
These points suggest the need for agencies, and particularly the AHB, to actively build relationships and some flexibility into their contracting processes. As a first step towards this the AHB say they will be producing a national-level communications strategy.
It is clear that authorities must build a relationship with the relevant iwi through good two way consultation processes before they can then move to an informing mode of operation. This can include discussions of how consultation will proceed at local runanga level, as has happened in the case of Ngai Tahu who have been working to build the capacity of local Ngai Tahu runanga to participate in consultation and monitoring processes. It appears that iwi initiated this process and that the AHB are contributing to this capacity-building process, thus improving their relationship with iwi, building trust and, also smoothing the way for a more constructive campaign against bovine Tb over much of the South Island.
In some situations, the trust the community has in the particular individuals managing the 1080 drop has been an important factor in negotiations. For example, the process that Dave Para (1999) describes clearly relied on the trust of Urewera Māori in individuals within DOC. It is notable, however, that that trust was supported by a DOC undertaking not to proceed until they had the agreement of all the groups concerned. This gave all the community groups involved a high level of perceived control over the possibility of aerial drops in the area.
What happens in examples of good consultation?
Informing and communicating about risks is more likely to succeed when treated as a two-way process, when participants are seen as legitimate partners, and when people’s attitudes and “worldviews” regarding environment and technology are respected. This is particularly true in the case of risk controversies. Acceptance of risks is not an information/ education issue, it results from a societal discourse. (Rohrmann 2000: 2)
This quotation suggests that good consultation aims at a participatory process in which agencies (as the instigators of pest control programmes) are prepared to address the concerns of the communities concerned. The following discussion uses the framework provided by the Integrated Systems for Knowledge Management (Allen et al. 2001) to discuss the findings of this research in terms of improving consultation processes.
Entry – beginning a relationship
Establishing which Māori groups should be consulted can be challenging, particularly in the North Island where there are many more hapu and iwi than in the South Island. DOC staff mentioned that problems have arisen in the past when they did not consult with all the appropriate groups simply because they were not aware of who they should be consulting. This is one aspect of 1080 consultation where access to information and information sharing is of vital importance.
Several respondents note that agencies and iwi groups need to find a point of agreement from which they can start their negotiations. As Murdoch (2001) noted, “the interesting side of the 1080 issue is that all parties support getting rid of possums but the problem then becomes how.” At different times, in working with iwi and other community groups, successful communicators would begin by reaching agreement on the need to improve conservation outcomes or control Bovine Tb. Beginning negotiations this way allows consideration of a greater range of alternatives and increases the perception of control, particularly for the community group in question.
In both the North Island and the South Island, some DOC offices have developed ongoing relationships with iwi groups, which make it easy to inform them of what is coming up well in advance of starting the consultation process. This allows adequate time for iwi to work through their concerns for the area in question. Similarly, in the South Island, Ngai Tahu are setting up processes and discussing how agencies will consult with runanga and how runanga can come to the table well prepared to discuss their concerns. This means that both the AHB and DOC will have a formal relationship and an agreed process for consultation with runanga. Part of this process requires building the capacity of the runanga to participate through the use of cultural impact assessment tools, and the employment of a liaison person who can work with local people to provide information and to take information back to those in authority.
It is important to note that having such a process does not mean obtaining a blanket approval for the use of 1080. Such an arrangement would most likely lead to more mistrust. Given that all communities need some sense of control over their local environment, people will need to go through a process on a local basis so they can have a hand in mitigating any of their concerns over the use of 1080.
Accessing relevant data and knowledge
Communities need access to relevant information they can trust. They need easy access to a range of information. Access can be problematic on several levels. Respondents mentioned that it can be very difficult and expensive for members of the public to get access to the scientific information on 1080. Not only is physically getting a copy of the documents difficult, individuals must have the time and capacity to read technical scientific reports and papers. For example a respondent noted that:
Information is a problem – I have a box of stuff on 1080 most of which I haven’t read. Too busy. What we really need is a synthesis because it is very difficult to do the work from original reports. If there were a reliable, neutral party who could put together and summarise the work that has been done, that would be ideal. There is some worry that the AHB or DOC might not be neutral and therefore might slant their information to their own advantage. So some kind of, even, peer reviewing might work or even contracting to independent agencies like Landcare Research might be necessary.
There is a need for information to be collated and synthesised by a trusted group and put somewhere accessible like a public website.
A few respondents felt that getting scientists to come and talk to them about 1080 had been useful for them. One respondent felt that his good access to scientists who were willing to come to the marae and talk about 1080 was one of the main reasons his group had elected to use 1080 as a form of possum control.
Another form of information that has been used is showing people the damage caused by possums, as in the case of Gisborne DOC working in the Urewera National Park (Para, 1999). Other respondents noted that taking Māori to see places where possums had been controlled was a good way to show them the effect that possums have on birdlife and the beneficial effects of pest control programmes on that birdlife.
Interviews and newspaper articles indicate that agencies should give groups all the information and that it is best to err on the side of a worst-case scenario. For example, a respondent noted that it was better to tell dog owners that they had to watch their dogs for six months to be sure the area would be safe, than to suggest a shorter time and run the risk of a dog being poisoned by eating a carcass. Another example is illustrated in a news story that outlines the position of a farmer in Te Kuiti. This man agreed to an aerial drop of 1080 in 1997 when pest eradication experts said it would be a “oncer” and that it would be followed up with ground trapping. Unfortunately the authorities later wanted to drop more 1080 (in 2001), which means the farmer no longer trusts the agency (Otorohanga District Council 2001 http//www.otodc.govt.New Zealand/News/News010913.htm, downloaded 12/02/02).
Community dialogue
As one respondent put it, consulting is a two-way process in which agencies need to ascertain what people feel about 1080, what their main concerns are, and then to ask how those concerns might be addressed even when the questioner thinks they know the answers to those questions. Asking these questions and listening to the anwers is part of the process of two-way dialogue.
However, it might not be possible for an agency to meet a community’s demands. One respondent noted that in her considerable experience in working with many different groups, there had been times when her organisation could not meet the requests of a group. She said that when they came back with an alternative and the reasons that they could not take that course of action (for example, that the cost would be too great) groups had been willing to negotiate ways to meet the needs of the agency. In examples she gave, both Māori and Pākehā groups had raised funds to meet the shortfall, or had provided labour where they had chosen to use bait stations or traps in some areas. She stressed the need for a genuine approach to such dialogue in which her agency showed itself willing to try and meet the needs of local people.
In situations where concerns have been met previously and the agency and community have established some mutual trust and understanding, it may be possible to move to informing groups of upcoming operations. This strategy only works where there is a strong and well-established relationship between the agency and the group in question.
Implementation and monitoring
Another way of improving the relationship between an agency and a Māori community is through involving them in monitoring the effects of 1080. Another form of participation in monitoring is illustrated by the involvement of Ngai Tahu in setting up ways of monitoring the effects of aerial 1080 across the ecosystem and of being involved more in monitoring their own areas. Respondents from the North Island note also that iwi there are involved in monitoring the effects of 1080 use.
When things go wrong
When things go wrong, people tend to go into battle mode, hunker down and close the hatches. Their body language makes their stance all too obvious. It is really very important to stay open and it’s very hard to do. I’ve been on the end of it and I find that it’s best just to let them go and nod sympathetically and eventually they run out of steam. Then you find you can start to talk it over.
Despite the best efforts to do everything right, things still go wrong. From our observations of a number of conflict situations, when arguments start, everyone’s instinct is to move to try and convince others – by out-reasoning or out-shouting them. As the respondent above notes it is an instinctive response to “go into battle mode” and yet this just encourages battle mode in the other party. The result is an unconstructive argument that repeats old arguments. Little is gained by anyone in these situations.
As the respondent above noted, instead, it is important to stay open and listen. This looks simple when expressed as a short sentence, but it is very difficult to do and almost impossible to do without learning to understand and control one’s own responses. In addition, for most people, it takes practice, and the encouragement and the support of others who can model the appropriate behaviour and provide a lead. In other words, it appears from this research that it is worthwhile for agencies to have skilled communicators who are always included in setting up 1080 operations. In most cases, it seems unwise to expect that people with expertise in pest control should have to run a consultation process without skilled support from experienced communicators.
Conclusions and recommendations
This research suggests that Māori views of 1080 are as variable as Pākehā views of 1080. In trying to understand the role of communication processes in gaining iwi agreement for the use of 1080 in their local area, this report has focused mostly on situations in which 1080 has been used with the agreement of local iwi. However informants often reflected on situations where iwi had refused to let 1080 be used. In talking to people with a range of different perspectives it became clear that it is possible to reach agreement about how to proceed even when people do not like the idea of 1080.
Our findings indicate that in consultation processes where 1080 was subsequently used in pest control, communities (whether Māori or Pākehā) felt that their concerns about 1080 were addressed. This sense of control was also achieved when people learned how they could mitigate the effects of 1080 usage. Good consultation, therefore, requires that agencies must genuinely work with Maori groups to negotiate a mutually-agreed course of action rather than working to persuade them to allow a pre-determined course of action. Another way to view this is that communities often mirror the behaviour of the agencies who are trying to consult them. If an agency tries to convince people without being prepared to change what it does, it is likely that the community will try to convince the agency of their point of view without being prepared to change their point of view. People who work constructively with communities show acceptance of different points of view, no matter how “irrational” they might seem, and are prepared to change the process by which they plan to achieve the outcomes they desire.
In every case where 1080 had been used for pest control without local protest, the consultation consisted of two-way dialogue and a genuine effort on the part of the agency to meet the concerns of the communities in question. This is not to argue that doing this will always result in the outcomes desired by agencies, however, it would appear to improve the outcomes that agencies are trying to achieve.
Good consultation is central to the process of helping agencies improve their practice in the use of 1080 and in gaining community acceptance of the use of 1080. At a time when communities are increasingly negative about the use of 1080, time and resources must be allowed for consultation processes. Respondents who had been involved in tense meetings and situations felt that skilled communicators provide a useful lead and were able to teach them how to manage their reactions in these situations. These people sometimes helped them reflect on their actions and learn from their experiences. Thus, using skilled factilitators to run such processes can in fact save time, resources and decrease stress on the individuals involved.
It appears that agency staff or representatives sometimes do not recognise the difference between information and consultation and therefore they have not considered whether what they are doing is appropriate. Much has been written about good participatory processes where two way dialogue helps local people feel that they have some control over the situation in question. However, it appears that there is still some way to go towards achieving these in practice.
Perhaps most importantly, this research suggests that it is unproductive to try to convince people that 1080 is good, harmless or effective. In fact, it appears that arguing about the safety of 1080 or downplaying its problems, tends to make people feel their views are being dismissed. In this situation, a normal reaction is for people to defend their position. Setting out to persuade or convince, therefore, can be counterproductive. Instead, agencies could more constructively use their time to work with communities to find ways to address their concerns.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the following:
- All those individuals and groups who took the time to talk about these issues and to share their experiences with us.
- Landcare Research for funding this project from their Non specific output funds.
- Will Allen and Garth Harmsworth who provided guidance and help with the project.
Comments and feedback on this report are welcomed and should be
directed to Chrys Horn (Email 
).
Page last updated: Thursday, 16 th January, 2002