The Role and Development Trend of Third-Party Mediation in Environmental Disputes

Abstract

Environmental issues such as industrial pollution, excessive packaging, light pollution, and rubbish pollution in households are all growing at an alarming rate with the rapid expansion of the economy. It is necessary for government departments and the judiciary to work together to resolve issues that are brought on by the environment. There has been a progressive development of a variety of mechanisms for the resolution of environmental conflicts; nevertheless, these mechanisms are still unable to fulfill all of the requirements that the public has for the resolution of environmental disputes, and a significant percentage of disputes cannot be resolved on time. The Chinese government has investigated alternative dispute resolution (ADR), established professional mediation institutions and social organizations as neutral third parties to intervene in environmental disputes, and provided reasonable solutions based on local policies and specific disputes through full understanding of issues. As a result, the Chinese government has achieved remarkable results. This article examines the pros and cons of using third-party mediation in the process of resolving environmental disputes and makes comparisons between the traditional method of resolving environmental disputes and third-party mediation as a method for resolving environmental disputes. The article uses statistical correlation methods to analyze the role of third-party mediation in natural environmental pollution control issues in various countries. Based on the analysis results, suggestions are put forward to improve the third-party mediation system of environmental disputes in our country. Experimental results show that the mediation system can promote information sharing, strengthen social cooperation and encourage all parties to take more coordinated actions in environmental protection, thereby promoting sustainable development and the realization of an ecological balance.

1. Introduction

With the continuous development of China’s economy and society, people’s living standards are constantly improved, which also damages and pollutes the local ecological environment [1]. Disputes and contradictions caused by environmental problems show an increasing trend [2]. According to the China Environmental Statistics Annual Report (2022), environmental protection departments at all levels received 863,200 complaints via telephone and online in 2020 [3]. By 2021, the number of telephone and Internet complaints received by environmental protection departments at all levels had soared to 2,302,300 [4]. Although China is gradually improving the diversified settlement system of environmental disputes, forming a one-stop settlement mechanism for disputes and contradictions, and providing the public with more flexible, convenient, diversified and standardized ways to solve environmental disputes, its expectations have not been fully realized in practice [5]. Its purpose is to solve difficult cases and effectively respond to public complaints, but the actual situation is that it cannot effectively solve issues even after a long-term trial through various channels [6]. The fundamental reason is that the existing environmental dispute resolution mechanism cannot adapt to all regions and actual disputes, and it is difficult to standardize the implementation in different situations. The types and characteristics of environmental disputes change with the development of an economic society.

Effective mediation should meet the public’s demand for fair, efficient and low-cost settlement of environmental disputes as an important entry point [7]. Mediation, as an effective way to resolve disputes and contradictions, has a profound social and cultural foundation and a long history in China [8]. From the ancient Confucian “non-litigation” to the new period of “Maple Bridge experience” mediation, the connotation of the Maple Bridge experience is as follows: small things do not go out of the village, events do not go out of town, contradictions do not hand over, local solution. The core idea of the “Fengqiao Experience” is to rely on the masses to resolve disputes. In China, the mediation method of the “Fengqiao Experience” has been used to resolve disputes and contradictions as well as social governance [9]. When environmental disputes cannot be effectively resolved by standardized means due to a high assessment cost, long litigation cycle, high resolution cost, strong professionalism and other factors, the public will seek non-standard dispute resolution methods, affecting social stability [10].

In the practice of resolving environmental disputes, a new mode has emerged, namely, the establishment of social organization mediation institutions as a neutral third party to provide legal and professional mediation services for environmental disputes [11]. These institutions should support and establish fair and open communication channels between dispute subjects to effectively solve environmental disputes [12]. At present, many countries in the world have accumulated a lot of theoretical achievements and practical experience in the field of third-party mediation of environmental disputes. China has also gradually carried out the exploration of fair, efficient and timely mediation of environmental disputes by neutral third-party organizations, and some positive results have been achieved. In order to effectively solve environmental disputes, meet the public’s urgent demand for environmental dispute resolution, make up for the shortcomings of the existing environmental dispute resolution mechanism, and realize the modernization of the governance capacity of the environmental governance system, it is necessary to conduct in-depth research and analysis on the practice of third-party mediation of environmental disputes in China [13].

Based on the experience of other countries using professional third-party mediation institutions to resolve environmental disputes, this paper discusses the third-party mediation mechanism in environmental field. China mainly uses administrative mediation, public mediation and other litigation alternative mechanisms to solve environmental disputes, forming an environmental dispute settlement mechanism with Chinese characteristics [14,15,16]. On the basis of constructing and improving the third-party mediation system of environmental disputes, a new path of standardized, institutionalized and standardized mediation of environmental disputes has been formed [17,18,19].

This paper studies the phenomenon that social organizations, as a neutral third party, set up professional mediation institutions to intervene in the mediation of environmental disputes, and discusses practical approaches to improve the conflict and conflict resolution system and supervision [20]. The dispute caused by environmental problems has its particularity in settlement and disposal. In the process of handling environmental disputes in the traditional litigation mode, due to the strong professionalism and high scientific uncertainty of environmental disputes, there are some common problems in the current environmental non-litigation dispute resolution mechanism, such as the lack of norms in the solution process, the lack of internal coordination and cooperation between various non-litigation solutions, and the issue that the connection with litigation is not smooth.

With the explosive growth in the number of environmental dispute cases, the problems facing the mechanism of environmental dispute resolution are becoming increasingly prominent. The full exploitation and utilization of social means will help to remedy the deficiencies in judicial and administrative means to solve environmental disputes [21].

In recent years, China’s third-party neutral institutions have been improving the composition of the field of environmental dispute mediation, so as to give full play to the active role of social organizations and the public in the field of environmental dispute resolution. The resolution mechanism and solution are the key points of the mediation of environmental disputes by the third-party neutral body. By focusing on the solution mechanism, the third-party neutral organization can trace back to the source of the environmental dispute and address the legal and reasonable fair treatment of environmental disputes. The article first introduces the concept of environmental disputes and the third-party mediation system, and then it introduces the role of the third-party mediation system in our country’s processing of the natural environmental pollution disputes and its development in our country. Finally, the paper puts forward the long-term suggestion to improve the third-party mediation system of our environmental disputes.

2. Literature Review

Environmental disputes relate to the interests of the people, enterprises and society. It is of great significance to use the third-party mediation system to solve the problems in the field of environmental disputes. This section mainly introduces the concept of environmental disputes and third-party mediation system, and it provides a detailed division of the characteristics and classification of environmental disputes, which is conducive to a better understanding of environmental disputes and third-party mediation system.

2.1. Concept of Environmental Disputes and Third-Party Mediation

In theoretical studies, due to the contradictory characteristics of environmental disputes, the theoretical circle has not reached a consensus on the concept of “environmental disputes” [22]. In this paper, environmental disputes are divided into general, major, major and major events according to degree of harm caused by environmental disputes, and environmental disputes are defined from different perspectives such as tort theory, interest theory and social construction theory. Professor Shouqiu Cai believes that “environmental disputes refer to various conflicts arising in the development, utilization, improvement, protection and management of environmental resources” [23]. From the perspective of environmental rights and obligations, Professor Singer defines environmental disputes as those between different subjects [24]. This paper defines the concept of environmental dispute from both a broad and narrow sense. The disputes and contradictions caused by the environment belong to the broad environmental disputes. Civil disputes and contradictions in the field of environment are defined as environmental disputes in a narrow sense. Professor Qi limited the concept of environmental disputes to conflicts and contradictions caused by environmental “utilization” but did not cover those caused by ecological environmental protection and restoration [25].

When it comes to the resolution of environmental conflicts, Nancy is of the opinion that mediation is preferable to litigation. Not only does it have the potential to resolve conflicts in a shorter amount of time and at a lower financial expense than litigation does, but it also makes up for the deficiencies that are present in the way that court procedures deal with environmental disputes. It is therefore important that an informal communication platform is made available to a number of different stakeholders [26]. Magavern is of the opinion that mediation is a suitable means through which environmental disputes can be resolved. Mediation has the potential to find a solution to difficult environmental conflicts, which litigation does not, and it can also strengthen the parties’ ability to work together in the long term [27]. Kahn made the point that while though litigation and mediation are both vital methods for resolving environmental conflicts, they each have their own shortcomings in practice. He is of the opinion that it will be beneficial to the environment if litigation and mediation are placed in a setting that is both more moral and more comprehensive and if the commonality of environmental ideas and values are consolidated. This is important with regard to the settlement of disagreements [28]. However, Soto believes that in order to resolve environmental conflicts in line with the law and on the basis of environmental law, the parties involved should do so with the assistance of lawyers. He also believes that environmental dispute mediation is an effective approach to resolve disputes and avoid litigation in the majority of situations. According to Zhao [29], professional people’s mediation has the potential to play a role that is both more active and successful in the resolution of environmental issues in China.

The environmental disputes studied in this paper refer to the environmental contradictions and contradictions in the field of folk norms. As shown in Figure 1, environmental disputes are defined as the analysis and research of environmental disputes existing in the development of environmental resources in China. Civil disputes in the process of utilization, improvement and protection of environmental factors are discussed in [30,31,32,33]. These issues include disputes and conflicts caused by environmental factors involving personal property and public environmental rights and interests.

In recent years, with the continuous strengthening of environmental protection work and the continuous improvement in public awareness of environmental protection, environmental disputes, as a new type of modern dispute, not only have the common character of ordinary disputes, but they also have their own particularity. The commonness is reflected in the conflicts and contradictions of disputes, while the particularity is reflected in the complex conflicts of interests involved in environmental disputes. Ordinary disputes mainly refer to all kinds of disputes between equal civil subjects on personal relations, property relations and other legal relations within the scope of civil law adjustment, involving a small range of interests. Compared with general disputes, environmental disputes are mainly manifested in the following aspects:

(1)

There are many kinds of environmental disputes, and the situation is complicated. Different environmental factors are often involved in the same dispute. Environmental disputes can have many harmful consequences. Environmental disputes include not only property damage caused by environmental hazards but also damage to public health. When exposure concentrations are roughly the same, different harmful consequences occur, making the resolution of environmental disputes more difficult. Environmental disputes exist in daily life, as well as in the process of resource exploitation, product production and urban development. There are traditional environmental disputes, mainly involving environmental conflicts and other conflicts of interest; there are also complex environmental disputes, mainly involving other conflicts of interest and environmental issues.

(2)

The settlement of environmental disputes requires professional and comprehensive ability, which is difficult and costly. Due to the diverse types and complex causes of environmental disputes, different types of environmental disputes have different solutions and involve professional technologies, including environmental science, biology, toxicology, medicine, environmental law and other professional disciplines. At the same time, scientific uncertainty also increases the difficulty of proving causality in environmental disputes. As a result, environmental disputes are often more difficult and costly to resolve than ordinary disputes. As a neutral third party, social organizations intervene in environmental disputes and establish professional mediation institutions, providing new possibilities for convenient and efficient settlement of environmental conflicts.

(3)

There is uncertainty regarding the subject of environmental disputes. The subject of an environmental dispute may involve many aspects. For example, a large number of mangoes are grown in fields near an industrial park. Near the harvest season, a large number of mangoes suddenly ripen, causing great losses to farmers. Expert analysis may be required relating to the high concentrations of some pollutants in the atmosphere, but causation cannot be directly proven. In addition, more than one enterprise in the park emits air pollutants, which greatly increases the difficulty of resolving environmental disputes due to the difficulty of identifying the subject of harm.

(4)

Environmental disputes are social. There are often many different stakeholders involved. The impact is widespread, and the contradictions and conflicts are often prominent. Effective settlement of environmental disputes is an important factor to promote social harmony, stability and economic prosperity. At the same time, after environmental disputes are resolved, stakeholders in environmental disputes tend to actively or passively establish long-term sustainable relationships. Compared with litigation, third-party mediation in environmental disputes is more conducive to improving the long-term relationship and avoiding the recurrence of disputes.

2.2. Classification of Environmental Disputes

As shown in Figure 2, the commonly used classification methods of environmental disputes mainly include the following types:

(1)

Classification according to the method commonly used in statistics: environmental disputes are classified according to the environmental factors involved. Environmental disputes can be divided into atmosphere-related environmental disputes, water-related environmental disputes, soil-related environmental disputes, solid waste-related environmental disputes and noise-related environmental disputes [34,35,36]. Disputes involving different environmental factors are often dealt with in different ways.

(2)

Classification of environmental disputes according to their legal nature: conflicts in the environmental field can be divided into civil disputes, criminal disputes and administrative disputes. This paper studies the third-party mediation of civil environmental disputes. In the process of utilizing, improving and protecting civil legal relations, the subject takes environmental factors as the intermediary, resulting in conflicts of interest and disputes of interest.

(3)

This classification relates to the causes of conflicts and contradictions in the field of environment. According to the different causes of environmental contradictions and conflicts, they can be divided into living environment disputes, namely, the conflicts of interest caused by non-productive behaviors in urban and rural daily life (such as noise, noise, lighting, etc.) and the conflicts mediated by environmental factors. Lighting and kitchen fumes are common causes of environmental disputes. Productive environmental disputes refer to the environmental contradictions caused by the destruction of ecological environment in the process of resource utilization or industrial production. Environmental disputes based on planning are environmental contradictions caused by planning problems in the process of urbanization. With the acceleration of China’s urbanization process, such disputes have shown a large-scale growth trend, often due to the complexity of the urbanization process. It is difficult to solve problems involving stakeholders; one such solution involves introducing social capital to invest in industrial parks of electroplating enterprises and controlling dispersed pollution in the electroplating industry. With the development and planning of the city, the environmental pollution caused by enterprises in the industrial park has seriously affected the residents in the industrial park. Environmental disputes between residents and enterprises lead to enterprises being unable to pass the government’s examination and acceptance, which also causes economic losses. Environmental disputes based on planning are often more acute and involve a large number of people. It is difficult to solve disputes effectively via traditional litigation and administrative mediation. In practice, a professional mediation platform established by a third-party neutral agency provides professional technical assistance and communication for the subject of the dispute. Dialogue channels help resolve environmental disputes and conflicts by coordinating communication and consultation among the subjects of environmental disputes.

3. Analysis of Problems Existing in Third-Party Mediation of Environmental Disputes in China Based on Statistical Analysis Methods

This chapter mainly introduces the current situation of third-party mediation in the field of environmental disputes in other countries, and summarizes the experience to help build China’s third-party mediation system of environmental disputes. This paper compares the methods of environmental dispute mediation with the traditional methods of environmental dispute resolution, and it introduces the research of the third-party mediation system in our country.

3.1. Experience of Third-Party Mediation of Environmental Disputes in Other Countries

The practical experience of third-party mediation in the United States mainly includes three aspects:

(1)

Establishing and perfecting the legal system;

(2)

Classify environmental disputes;

(3)

Combining the third-party mediation of environmental disputes with the non-litigation settlement mechanism of other environmental disputes.

The practice of German courts in third-party mediation and the application of environmental disputes can provide the following reference for our country:

(1)

It is important to attach importance to the wishes and privacy of the parties;

(2)

The third-party mediation institution shall strengthen the professional skills training of the mediation team;

(3)

Germany’s active role in online mediation has a strong reference value for China.

Japan’s experience in using third-party mediation in environmental disputes can be a reference for China:

(1)

Japan has established very clear arbitration procedures;

(2)

Japan has enacted laws and regulations on mediators. Mediation boards in Japan generally consist of a director and two part-time mediators;

(3)

Part-time mediators are state public employees whose salaries are paid by the government and whose age and seniority are clearly specified to ensure effective resolution of disputes.

Although China has initially established a diversified environmental dispute settlement mechanism, in practice, due to the existing problems of the current environmental dispute settlement mechanism, it cannot well meet the actual needs of all sectors of society for environmental disputes. With the continuous improvement of social environmental quality and the enhancement of public environmental awareness, the ability of the original dispute resolution mechanism to solve environmental disputes has gradually weakened. In the face of increasing environmental disputes and the difficulty of resolving them, it is urgent to explore a new mediation mechanism to solve the increasingly complex environmental disputes. At present, China has the following solutions in the field of environmental disputes.

(1)

Negotiation. Negotiation is the most common self-help behavior after environmental disputes. However, in the contradiction and conflict in the field of environment, there is often inequality in economic strength and social status between the injured party and the infringing party, which leads to contradiction and opposition. In the questionnaire survey of Chongqing, only less than 10% of the dispute objects have the experience of resolving domestic environmental disputes through self-negotiation, most of which are caused by noise pollution, while production and planning environmental disputes are the main ones. No cases have been resolved through self-negotiation.

(2)

Application to the Environmental Protection Agency for administrative processing. When contradictions and conflicts in the field of environmental protection cannot be resolved through negotiation, complaints are usually filed directly with the relevant environmental protection authorities, or administrative handling is applied for, as shown in

Table 1. Environmental administrative handling from 2013 to 2015.

Years	Environmental Administrative Penalties/10,000 Pieces	Environmental Administrative Reconsideration/Piece
2013	13.9	550
2014	9.7	544
2015	10.2	705

. After accepting disputes, the relevant environmental protection authorities will promptly appeal to the subject of environmental violations.

Environmental violations will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and it will be ordered that the violations must cease. However, the capacity of the government to handle environmental problems brought on by legal acts and conflicts over environmental planning is quite restricted.

(3)

Mediation in the administrative process. In accordance with the provisions of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution and the Law on the Prevention and Control of Soil Pollution, the parties involved in a dispute over the liability for damage caused by environmental issues and the amount of compensation due may apply to the relevant department of environmental protection or any other relevant departments for mediation. However, based on the findings of the actual investigation, it is authoritative and practical to use administrative measures to reconcile the tensions and disputes in the field of environmentalism; however, there are some issues that cannot be overlooked. There are questions over whether or not it will be able to maintain its neutrality. It is generally difficult to find an effective solution when there are inconsistencies in other areas or when the quantity of compensation differs considerably from psychological expectations. This might make the problem more difficult to address.

(4)

Mediation provided by the people. As illustrated in Figure 3, the term “people’s mediation” used in this context refers to the people’s mediation committee established by the village committee or the neighborhood committee. This is in contrast to the people’s mediation committee for environmental conflicts established by a third-party social organization. The people’s mediation committee has been effective in the mediation of straightforward environmental disagreements; however, it is challenging for the committee to play a role in environmental disagreements that require professional environmental expertise.

(5)

Litigation. As demonstrated in

Table 2. Environmental petition work from 2013 to 2015.

Years	The Total Number of Letters/Letter	Visiting Batch/Batch	Number of Visitors/Person-Time
2013	104,325	46,157	108,295
2014	114,128	51,281	109,892
2015	121,582	49,373	105,385

, going to court is the last resort for resolving environmental disagreements. However, there are numerous challenges associated with the identification of facts regarding damage, causality, liability division, and other aspects of environmental conflicts. In addition, there are many challenges associated with the identification of practical difficulties at the practical operation level in real life. As a result, the duration of the lawsuit settlement cycle for environmental issues is lengthy, the associated costs are significant, the closing cycle also takes a considerable amount of time, and a large number of cases are still open. According to the results of a survey that was conducted by the Chongqing Municipality, almost forty percent of the people involved in the environmental dispute have the intuitive feeling that it will take a long time and require a high cost to solve the dispute through litigation, and almost twenty percent of the people involved in the environmental dispute are still not satisfied with the result of the dispute resolution after the conclusion of the litigation. Figure 4 illustrates this point.

3.2. China’s Third-Party Mediation System for Environmental Disputes

Giving full play to the role of non-litigation mechanism, using legal thinking and legal concepts, and resolving disputes and contradictions in the field of environment according to law are the internal requirements and governance capabilities of the modernization of environmental governance system. Mediation is the most ideal and non-compulsory way to resolve disputes. With the increasing number of environmental disputes and the increasing difficulty in solving them, how to give full play to the due role of mediation is of great practical significance for the fair, effective and legal settlement of environmental disputes. From the perspective of dispute resolution, mediation means that the subject of the dispute reaches an agreement through negotiation under the auspices or participation of any third party other than the subject of the dispute, so as to resolve the conflicts of interest and contradictions, as shown in

Table 3. Environmental trials from 2017 to 2019.

Years	Environmental Resources Criminal Case/Case of First Instance	Civil First-Instance Cases/Cases of Environmental Resources	Environmental and Resource Administration First-Instance Cases/Cases
2017	22,729	177,501	39,342
2018	26,481	192,008	42,235
2019	39,957	202,671	47,588

.

It is possible for any organization or individual who is not directly involved in the disagreement to serve as the neutral third party who presides over or participates in the mediation of the conflict. For the purposes of the third-party mediation of environmental disputes, any force participating in disputes as a neutral mediator is considered to be a part of the third-party mediation of environmental disputes in the broadest sense. The exception to this rule is the subject of the environmental conflicts. One of the primary reasons why the existing mechanism for the resolution of environmental disputes is unable to meet the demand of the public in practice is due to the fact that it does not provide any direction for the public to participate. Therefore, it is vital to investigate how to give full play to the important role of public participation in environmental conflicts through third-party mediation. In addition to this, it is required to study how to guide the public to solve disputes in accordance with the law and improve the mediation mechanism of environmental disputes. The process of environmental conflict resolution is currently being worked on to become more standardized, institutionalized, and legalized. This has been the main focus of the work being conducted. Establishing a social organization that acts as a neutral third party and a specialized institution dedicated to mediation should be part of the process of resolving environmental problems. In order to resolve environmental conflicts in accordance with the findings of the study, a civil mediation process has been adopted. This can not only avoid the status inequality caused by the gap in economic strength and technical knowledge, but it can also provide an equal communication channel for vulnerable groups in environmental disputes and promote a long-term friendly relationship between the parties involved in environmental disputes. Additionally, this can avoid the status inequality caused by the gap in economic strength and technical knowledge.

3.3. Research Methodology

Statistical analysis methods to study the role of third-party mediation in environmental disputes can take the following analytical steps:

1.

Collect data: Collect data relating to environmental disputes, including the number of mediation cases, information on participants, types of disputes, mediation results, etc. These data can come from mediation institutions, court records, relevant reports or questionnaires, etc.

2.

Descriptive statistical analysis: Conduct a descriptive statistical analysis of the collected data, such as calculating the number of mediation cases, the number of participants, the distribution of dispute types, etc. This can help us understand the prevalence of third-party mediation in environmental disputes.

3.

Success rate analysis: analyze the success rate of mediation cases, that is, analyze the proportion of successful mediation cases. The overall success rate can be calculated, and group analysis can be carried out according to different types of environmental disputes to compare the mediation success rates of different dispute types to evaluate the effect of third-party mediation in different situations.

4.

Correlation analysis: Through correlation analysis, explore the correlation between third-party mediation and environmental dispute resolution. Statistical methods, such as correlation coefficients, chi-square tests, etc., can be used to determine the relationship between third-party mediation and settlement outcomes. In addition, other possible factors, such as the complexity of the dispute, the background of the participating parties, etc., can also be considered, and a multiple regression analysis can be performed to determine the independent impact of third-party mediation on the settlement outcome.

5.

Satisfaction survey: Design and conduct a satisfaction survey of the participants to understand their evaluation and feedback on the third-party mediation. Questionnaires or face-to-face interviews can be used to collect the opinions and suggestions of the participants. By analyzing survey data, it is possible to assess the popularity of third-party mediation in environmental disputes and its impact on the parties involved.

Based on the above analysis, conclusions can be drawn about the role of third-party mediation in environmental disputes, including its application, success rate, relevance to dispute resolution and satisfaction of participants. The results of these analyzes help evaluate the effectiveness of third-party mediation and provide a basis for improving mediation practice and policy.

4. Discussion on the Third-Party Adjustment System

This part mainly introduces the concrete suggestions on how to establish and improve the system of the third-party mediation in environmental disputes, by clarifying the legal status of the third-party mediation in environmental disputes, to play the role of the third-party mediation in environmental disputes [36,37,38,39]. It is important to further improve our country’s environmental dispute third-party mediation system by establishing the standard third-party mediation system, thus strengthening the construction of the third-party mediation team.

4.1. Establish a Third-Party Mediation System for Environmental Disputes

As shown in Figure 5, the legal basis for Chinese social organizations to intervene in the mediation of environmental disputes as a neutral third party mainly comes from the Tort Liability Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Environmental Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China and other relevant laws and regulations. The status of third-party mediation in the pluralistic settlement system of environmental disputes is not clear, and the protection is not sufficient, which means that the role of mediation in the settlement of environmental disputes in China cannot be fully exploited.

It is required to build a third-party mediation system that is suitable for China’s national conditions in order to allow the environmental dispute resolution mechanism of third-party mediation to reach its full potential for maximum effectiveness. This is necessary in order to give full play to the effectiveness of the mechanism in resolving environmental conflicts.

It is vital to begin by providing more clarity regarding the pluralistic environmental dispute settlement system as well as the role that third-party mediation plays within the system. It is necessary to formulate relevant laws in the field of environmental dispute resolution from the legislative level because, as a country with written law, when the legislation in the field of environmental dispute resolution is behind the times, the practice and exploration of environmental dispute resolution, and the efficiency of the existing diversified environmental dispute resolution mechanism, cannot meet the demand of the public, and thus, it is necessary to formulate relevant laws in the field of environmental dispute resolution. Establishing a methodical, standardized, and institutionalized mechanism for resolving environmental disputes is the first step toward solving environmental disputes. The second step is to clarify the status of third-party mediation within the diversified environmental dispute settlement mechanism, and the third step is to form an environmental dispute settlement system with litigation and arbitration as the main body. To compensate for the lack of energy that is present in the current environmental conflict resolution process, the use of mediation by a neutral third party ought to be the primary mechanism, with other dispute resolution mechanisms serving as the supplementary mechanism.

There are a limited number of applicable experiences and an insufficient amount of theoretical research on third-party arbitration of environmental conflicts, despite the fact that many locations in China are investigating the feasibility of using third-party mediation to resolve environmental issues. The time is not yet right for a specialized piece of legislation. Before beginning to pilot third-party mediation of environmental conflicts, the State Council, the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme People’s Court should first release policy documents and pick some typical locations. The rule establishes a varied system for the resolution of environmental disputes, the primary component of which is third-party mediation. It is also necessary to make timely adjustments to applicable regulations in order to improve the system of third-party mediation for environmental issues. Not only should the regulations of the system for third-party mediation conform to the national conditions of China, but they should also be able to fulfill the requirements of the practice of third-party mediation of environmental issues. The basic principles, system setup, and mediation procedures of third-party mediation of environmental disputes are required to be clarified in the regulations governing the settlement of environmental disputes. Additionally, the connection and coordination between third-party arbitration of environmental disputes and other methods of settling environmental disputes need to be clarified.

4.2. Formation of a Standardized Third-Party Mediation Working Mechanism for Environmental Disputes

The method of mediation by a third party is necessary in order to ensure the uninterrupted progression of the work relating to environmental conflicts. It is necessary to establish a structure of responsibility for environmental disputes, provide clarity regarding the job responsibilities, particular tasks, and evaluation indicators of environmental dispute mediators, encourage the standardization and standardization of third-party mediation methods for environmental disputes, and clarify the job responsibilities of environmental dispute mediators. The purpose of this activity is to mediate and settle environmental issues in accordance with the law, as well as to give full play to the mediation role of the third-party mediation mechanism for environmental disputes.

The following is a list of the primary responsibilities that are taken on by the third-party mediation institutions in environmental conflicts:

(1)

Intervene in environmental issues to mediate them as a neutral third party;

(2)

Make laws and provide policies and scientific information relating to the environment that pertain to environmental protection more widely known in the context of the contentious issue through the use of mediation;

(3)

Report the incidence of environmental conflicts, as well as the mediation of those disputes, to the appropriate judicial and environmental departments;

(4)

Investigate the factors that lead to environmental disagreements and provide environmental protection agencies taking into account people’s thoughts, observations, and recommendations;

(5)

Offer advisory services for the letters, visits, complaints and administrative litigation that are brought on by environmental disagreements.

4.3. Strengthen the Construction of a Mediation Team Based on Professional Mediators

Extremely professional standards are adhered to during the process of environmental dispute mediation with a third party. Mediators are required to have not just an understanding of environmental laws and policies, but also a certain knowledge of environmental science (and medical expertise) when mediating disputes, so that they can inform the public about the impact that environmental harm can have on human health. This is one of the challenges that mediators face. In order to facilitate the mediation of environmental disagreements, a distinct framework for mediation by a third party has been put into place. Additionally, in recent years, environmental disputes have happened frequently and with a high degree of severity, along with a high degree of specialization. This makes it difficult for organizations that mediate disputes between ordinary people or individual mediation institutions to successfully address environmental disputes. In light of the current circumstances, the institution that provides third-party mediation for environmental disagreements needs to assemble a group of both full-time and part-time mediators so that it can pursue the path of specialization. The cost of remuneration for full-time mediators is quite high, despite the fact that the team of full-time mediators is having a positive practical effect in the field of environmental dispute mediation. The monetary burden is one that the organization providing third-party conflict mediation must bear.

There is a possibility that the mediation of disagreements will be shared between arbitrators who have educational and professional backgrounds in law and environmental science. The crew performed an investigation into who was at fault and who was liable using environmental science as a lens. Through consistent education, the institutions that provide third-party mediation for environmental disputes should work to improve the level of professionalism possessed by mediators. Mediators are required to host a forum on dispute cases once a month in addition to organizing an intensive study and training session once a year in order to summarize and learn from their experience in resolving environmental conflicts via the use of third-party mediation.

5. Conclusions

Although China’s environmental dispute resolution mechanism has basically taken shape, the types and characteristics of environmental disputes are also gradually changing. The ability of the original dispute resolution mechanism to solve environmental disputes is gradually weakening, and the resource efficiency of the existing system is still not enough to meet the actual needs of the public to solve environmental disputes. Based on the problems existing in the current environmental dispute resolution mechanism and the implementation of the third-party mediation, this paper believes that third-party mediation is an effective way to make up for the lack of energy and efficiency in the current environmental dispute resolution mechanism. The institutionalization and legalization of third-party mediation is also an important effort to effectively resolve environmental disputes in China. Third-party mediation can play a crucial role in resolving environmental disputes by facilitating communication, promoting collaboration, and helping parties reach mutually acceptable solutions. Here are some suggestions on the role of third-party mediation in environmental disputes: (1) Facilitate communication: Mediators can create a neutral and safe environment where all parties can express their concerns, interests, and perspectives. By ensuring effective communication, mediators help parties understand each other’s viewpoints, build empathy, and establish a foundation for constructive dialogue. (2) Foster collaboration: Mediators can encourage collaboration among conflicting parties by identifying shared interests and common goals. They can facilitate brainstorming sessions, encourage the exploration of creative solutions, and promote cooperation rather than confrontation. By fostering collaboration, mediators can help parties find win–win outcomes that address environmental concerns. (3) Enhance understanding: Environmental disputes often involve complex scientific, technical, and legal aspects. Mediators can help parties understand and analyze the technical information and scientific data relating to the dispute. They can also assist in clarifying legal frameworks and regulations, ensuring that all parties have a common understanding of the issues at hand. (4) Build trust: Environmental disputes often involve stakeholders with divergent interests, such as communities, businesses, government agencies and environmental organizations. Mediators can help build trust among these parties by ensuring transparency, fairness and impartiality throughout the mediation process. By establishing trust, mediators create an atmosphere conducive to productive negotiations.