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Read about the situation in the Rospuda Valley and watch a short movie about the conflict. Do you think there were ways to avoid it? Do you think there were other ways to solve the problem? Discuss it with other students in your class. You can run a debate on the subject. Choose the opposing sides and arbiters for your debate. Before you run the debate you should all study various methods of conflict resolution.

Bypass in Rospuda Valley

The construction of the Augustów bypass was planned already in 1992, and several years later the first projects were created. A lot of effortto make efforteffort was made to make sure that the road runs as little as possible through forests, and avoids as many farms as possible. A half‑kilometre overpass supported by ten pillars was planned to cross the Rospuda Valley.

The ring roads were demanded not only by the drivers but also, and perhaps most of all, by the inhabitants of Augustów, who were tired of living with the truckstrucktrucks passing through their city – every year more and more, approximately 1,5 million a year, which is almost 5 thousand a day. The residents of this health resorthealth resorthealth resort lived among noise, exhaust fumesexhaust fumesexhaust fumes, in constant danger of traffic accidents. However, environmentalists and experts were not pleased with the planned route of the roadroute of the roadroute of the road. The priceless peat bogspeat bogspeat bogs in the Rospuda River created exceptional conditions for several dozenseveral dozenseveral dozen protected speciesspeciesspecies of plants and birds: white‑tailed eagleswhite‑tailed eaglewhite‑tailed eagles, black storks and white‑backed woodpeckerswhite‑backed woodpeckerwhite‑backed woodpeckers nested there, and large mammals such as wolves and deer, passed through the valley when they migrated from the Augustów Primeval Forest to the neighbouring forests. For all these reasons the Rospuda Valley has been included in the European network of protected areas Natura 2000.

Despite all the reservationsreservationreservations and controversy, the construction began in 2007. Immediately protests began – environmentalists set up temporary tents in the valley and did not leave them even in the winter to make sure no heavy equipmentheavy equipmentheavy equipment could enter the area. Protests were organised in a number of cities across Poland, too. The residents of Augustów were blocking the existing road, demanding faster works on the road construction. “Is a life of a frog more important than a life of a human being?” – they asked.

The dispute was soon joined by the European Commission alarmed by the environmentalists, and the case went to the European Court of Justice. Pressured by the European Union institutions and public opinion, the government decided to change the route of the road. On November 7, 2014, the bypass was finally put into serviceput into serviceput into service.

How to solve conflicts?

Social conflicts are an inseparableinseparableinseparable part of social life and can play an important role in strengtheningto strengthenstrengthening social values and norms if people are able to find solutions to those disputes. History has taught us, that conflicts have caused permanentpermanentpermanent changes in the social structure, and thanks to protests, strikes, and demonstrations, new value systems have been created, introducing equality among gendersgendergenders, races and nations for example.

There might be various sources of these antagonisms: the differences in the standard of living, disproportions in access to goods and services, cultural goods, different approaches to existing social norms and traditional values. The disputes between nations or states may concern territories, the access to natural resources, religion or ideology. Conflicts have always accompanied humanity, and it is only up to the participants of the dispute whether they will be devastating or whether they will become a factor of change and development for the society. The history of mankind is a history of conflicts. They cannot be eliminated, but we can learn to solve them.

Study the diagram presenting the four most effective conflict resolution methods and read their descriptions.

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Infografika, w której centralnej części znajdują się twarze dwójki rozmawiających ludzi. Poniżej znajdują się następujące elementy: 1. Negotiations. Grafika przedstawiająca dwie postaci, które rozmawiają. 2. Mediation. Grafika przedstawia trzy postaci, jedna z nich jest większa i to ona mówi. 3. Arbitrage. Trzy postaci, środkowa jest większa i wyciąga dłonie do pozostałych dwóch. 4. Court. Jedna postać z młotkiem sędziowskim.

The most effective methods to solve conflicts are:

Negotiations: a dialogue between two or more people, in which antagonists, recognising the necessity of cooperation, attempt to overcome the differences between them and find a mutuallymutuallymutually satisfying solution.

Mediation: an interactive process, where a neutral third party (the mediator) assists in reaching an agreement acceptable to both parties. The process may be voluntary, confidentialconfidentialconfidential and informal, but may also be an element of official contacts. The mediator should be a person trusted by both sides – it can either be a complete stranger, or somebody close to them (like a brother, or a friend). The goal of mediation is to create conditions for the parties to reach a voluntary agreement, not to impose a solution onto them. Mediations conducted in accordance with these rules should bring a lastinglastinglasting and mutually satisfying resolution to the conflict.

Arbitrage: also requires the participation of a third party (at the international level – another state or several states), in which both sides put great trust or which is imposed by an international organisation. Contrary to mediations, in the case of arbitrage, the parties to the conflict consider the solution imposed by the third party to be final. However, this type of conflict resolution can often only lead to the concealmentconcealmentconcealment of a problem that will later be reborn with an even greater force. Imagine an argument between siblings, which their mother interrupts, making the children shake hands. The authority of the parent may lead to apparent consent, but only an attempt to learn and eliminate the source of the conflict will eventually solve it.

Court: this method uses the civil justice system (or special international tribunals) to resolve legal controversies. In this case, both parties are compelled to abide by a decision handed down by a judge.

Keywords

The Rospuda Valley, bypass, protests, environmentalists, peat bogs, Natura 2000, European Commission, European Court of Justice, negotiations, mediations, arbitrage

Glossary