Abstract
The chapter will develop a general concept for integrative risk governance emphasizing procedural and structural mechanisms as well as precaution-oriented considerations. Key terms used in this chapter refer to seriousness, complexity, scientific uncertainty and socio-political ambiguity; the application of precaution in risk handling; the handling of risk issues that are subject to strongly divergent cultural attitudes, political perspectives or economic interests; the quest for more openness and transparency during the entire risk handling process; and the design of effective means and institutional arrangements for stakeholder and public involvement. The integrative concept refers to a set of procedural elements, which first of all embraces the classic components of risk analysis: pre-assessment, appraisal, and management. A further phase, comprising the characterization and evaluation of risk, is placed between the appraisal and management phase. The risk process also includes risk communication as a component that is a necessary complement to all risk phases. The chapter will first introduce the key challenges: seriousness, complexity, uncertainty and ambiguity. Section 2.3 is devoted to the explanation of the IRGC risk governance model and its components: pre-assessment, appraisal, characterization and evaluation, management and communication. The main lessons from using the risk governance model are summarized in Sect. 2.4.
Keywords
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- 1.
See the EU-Regulation No 1907/2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and establishing a European Chemicals Agency.
- 2.
The following concept of integrative risk governance collects, condenses and re-interprets different ideas, modules, project results, and publications on which the authors have worked on over the last decade. See e.g. WBGU (2000); Klinke and Renn (1999, 2002); Klinke et al. (2006); IRGC (2005); Renn and Walker (2007); Renn (2008).
- 3.
This includes the social mobilization potential, i.e. how likely is it that the risk consequences generate social conflicts and psychological reactions by individuals or groups?
- 4.
For the IPCP see the website http://www.ipcp.ch.
- 5.
An example for an institutionalized body to fulfil at least partially tasks and functions of tolerability and acceptability assessment and risk appraisal on the national level is the UK Chemical Stakeholder Forum. The forum consists of stakeholders from different associations such as chemical industry, business, environment, consumer protection as well as research institutes. They gather different perceptions and concerns, evaluate and prioritize different chemicals and propose risk management strategies in order to deliberate the government.
- 6.
This can be addressed by private actors (such as corporate risk managers) or public actors (such as regulatory agencies) or both (public-private partnerships).
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Klinke, A., Renn, O. (2010). Risk Governance: Contemporary and Future Challenges. In: Eriksson, J., Gilek, M., Rudén, C. (eds) Regulating Chemical Risks. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9428-5_2
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