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You have recommended to the Governor to support a modified ‘compromise’ agro-industrial development approach.

The rice mill owners and the large-scale rice farmers are satisfied enough with the alternative proposed, that is of smaller scale than originally envisioned, but still facilitates the general plan that was first proposed. Whilst the dam construction company did not win a major contract, the Governor offered a small contract related to the construction of the solar farm that also was satisfactory enough.

The water diversion dams, together with the increased large-scale agriculture activity, has had some impact on the river and its ecosystems, and the number of wild capture fish have dropped a small amount, but the fishing communities continue to practice their original livelihood and consider it satisfactory enough that the original large dam project did not go ahead and has been permanently cancelled.

Other residents, including tourism and small-scale farmers were also satisfied enough, as in the process of redesigning the Regional Rice Hub compromises were also made to support a limited number of locally-led initiatives. Some innovative connections were made, for example, between biofuel small-scale electricity generation supplying the town and the rice mills, and the farm waste from the small- and large-scale rice farmers fields. 

While the redesign of the project delays the timeline from its original plan by 2 years, the Governor was satisfied with the outcome as they were reelected in the interim given the goodwill broadly generated from the compromise solution.

Outcome Analysis:

This decision-making that has led to the ‘compromise’ agro-industrial development approach has broadly reflected a participatory approach with numerous compromises along the way seeking to find some benefits for all involved whilst minimizing the harms created and avoiding their unequal allocation (i.e. inclusive, diffuse and positive reciprocity). While it took some time to reach the decision on the project design, the quality of decision making was improved with more careful consideration of the social and environmental negative impacts, and allowing time – even within a more limited budget – for more innovative solutions to be identified.

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