Abstract

The management of high level radioactive waste is nowadays recognised as a complex decision-making where no solution can be reached solely on the basis of technical considerations. While this issue is acknowledged as a problem for the community as a whole, waste management remains a global problem looking for a local solution. Starting from this view, COWAM network (Community Waste Management), developed under the Fifth Framework Programme of the European Commission, addressed the following objectives: 1) To empower local actors through a networking process; 2) To gather and discuss the available experiences of decision-making processes at the local level within their national context in Europe; 3) To set up an arena for balanced exchanges between local actors, NGOs, regulators and implementers; 4) To promote new approaches to decision-making in national contexts in Europe. COWAM network comprises 230 delegates from 10 European countries, involving in priority local communities and NGOs. The emphasis put on the local participation enabled members of COWAM network to overcome distrust and to build common lessons and views beyond usual stakeholder positions. Through the analysis of case studies different issues were identified, among them two relate more specifically to expertise and environmental quality in the long term and sustainable development. During the 1990s, nearly every national nuclear waste programme met many difficulties. There may have been awareness that nuclear waste management was more than a technical issue but there was little experience how to deal with the social aspects in general and the local opposition in particular. Local communities were only involved in the last stage of the decision-making process when almost all components of the decision were already fixed and local opposition was mainly seen as something that had to be overcome by information. The management of high level radioactive waste is now recognised as a complex decision-making process entailing technical, ethical, social, political and economic dimensions where no solution can be reached solely on the basis of technical considerations. While this issue is acknowledged as a problem for the community as a whole, a major dimension in radioactive waste remains the fact that waste management is a global problem looking for a local solution. It has become more and more clear that there is an increasing need to have society, and notably directly concerned local people, involved in the decision-making process. For any solution, a sound contract between the national community and a local community is a pre-requisite. To reach such a contract, there is a need for an open process where the project can be influenced by various stakeholders. It is becoming recognised that it is only through mutual trust between national and local stakeholders that nuclear waste systems can be developed. 1. BUILDING THE PROJECT: MEETING A GROWING NEED FOR LOCAL INVOLVEMENT Starting from this view, a group composed of representatives of a local community (Oskarshamn, Sweden), national authorities (HSK in Switzerland and the special advisor to the Swedish Government on nuclear waste issues), the French nuclear implementer (ANDRA), and experts from Belgium

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