Reaching Across the Communication Gulf: Reflections on the Challenges of Environmental Assistance Programs

Several experiences in international environmental cooperation and assistance are examined to understand how communication across differing traditions, legal systems, cultures, history, and language has impacted joint efforts to develop stronger environmental regimes. The article concludes that efforts to build more effective environmental protection regimes in support of both domestic and international environmental goals must become much smarter to overcome communication barriers and related impediments to effective joint activities. Different traditions can coexist and even work productively together where there is strong and equal motivation on both sides. But when these conditions are absent, the international partners need to find additional bridging tools and must work explicitly to identify genuinely common goals.