3.1.2. Limitations in building a social consensus on environmental issues
There have been difficulties in forming a social consensus regarding
development and conservation among various parties during the environmental
assessment and after decisions have been made. Such problems
could be attributed to the fact that the voices of local residents,
stakeholders, and environmental groupswere not taken into consideration
during the decision-making process or planning stage. Their participationwas
limited to stageswheremajor decisions had already been
made (i.e. project plans were disclosed after details had been made).
Because PERS procedures did not guarantee public consultation, the
general public was unable to participate in the planning process at a
higher level.When a unilateral decisionwas made to develop a building
or facility at the strategic level without public consultation, serious
disagreement could arise between local residents and developers. This
conflict usually created a loss of time and material resources because
it delays the project (Song, 2005b).