A Guide to Communication and Participation in Decision-Making about the Deep Geological Repository of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Waste in the Czech Republic

This guide is the outcome of a qualitative and quantitative empirical research that examined the social embeddedness of decisions about the deep geological repository (DGR) of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste in the Czech Republic. The findings from this research were collected and systematised into an applicable set of principles and procedures for communicating with the public and for participatory decision-making in an effort to promote conflict-free negotiations on DGR. The guide describes the social embeddedness of the decision-making process, distinguishes between the opinion outlooks of different stakeholders, identifies various aspects involved in the implementation of the DGR project and their social dimension, and highlights the need to relate the technical acceptability of the DGR project to its social acceptability. The backbone of the guide is the idea of dialogue, wherein the principles and procedures are elaborated both with a view to dialogue as a decision-making process and with a view to the subjects of the dialogue. The guide seeks to accord balanced weight to the opinion outlooks of all stakeholders, so that it is beneficial both to state system and for affected local communities. The recommendations outlined in the guide draw on the activities of the Working Group for Dialogue on the DGR