The Role and Development Trend of Third-Party Mediation in Environmental Disputes
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Dear authors,
Greetings!
After reviewing you manuscript, the following comments can be presented:
1- Abstract: The abstract was not written properly. The abstract should include the purpose of the study, methodology, findings, then the study recommendations. Authors are requested to rewrite the abstract considering all these aspects.
2- The study needs Literature review.
3- No methodology in the study. Authors need to add clear methodology.
4- In line 298 and many other places in the manuscript you mentioned the availability of China's third-party mediation system for environmental disputes; at the same time you suggest to Establish a third-party mediation system for environmental disputes in China. Please double check and clarify.
5- The study needs a section on results and discussion to discuss the study results, otherwise why you are conducting this study.
6- Literature review is very important so that you should compare your results with the results of previous studies. in the results and discussion section you can do this comparison.
7- Add recommendations at the end of the study.
8- Only 21 references have been used. You should use at least 40 references to ensure the study considered most of the previous publications results which have been published in this field.
All the best,
Author Response
Thank you for the suggestions provided by the reviewers, which have been very helpful to our article. We have made revisions based on the comments. Please review the response and download the reply letter and the revised article:
1- Abstract: The abstract was not written properly. The abstract should include the purpose of the study, methodology, findings, then the study recommendations. Authors are requested to rewrite the abstract considering all these aspects.
Response: Thanks! Based on the opinions of the reviewers, we have rewritten the abstract as required. The updated summary is as follows:
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 rise of the economy. It is necessary for the department 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. 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. This paper examines the function of third party mediation in various nations' natural environmental pollution control issues. Based on that research, the author offers some recommendations for enhancing the third party mediation system of environmental disputes in our own country.
2- The study needs Literature review.
Response: Thanks! The second part of the article gives an overview of the article. In addition, we have added descriptions of related studies. The specific content is as follows:
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 lower financial expenses than litigation does, but it also makes up for the deficiencies that are present in the way that court procedures deal with environmental disputes. Make available to a number of different stakeholders an informal communication platform [22]. 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 [23]. 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 prac-tice. 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. The settlement of disagreements [24]. 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 [25], 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.
3- No methodology in the study. Authors need to add clear methodology.
Response: Thanks! The third part of the article is the experimental part, in which we use related research methods. This paper uses statistical analysis methods to conduct a relevant analysis on the topic of the article. For details, please refer to the content of the experimental analysis section.
4- In line 298 and many other places in the manuscript you mentioned the availability of China's third-party mediation system for environmental disputes; at the same time you suggest to Establish a third-party mediation system for environmental disputes in China. Please double check and clarify.
Response: Thanks! In fact, the experimental part of this paper uses relevant data collected in China for analysis. The experimental results verify the availability of the third-party mediation system for environmental disputes in China. Therefore, this paper proposes to establish a third-party mediation system for environmental disputes in China. In the revised manuscript, we have optimized the description of this part, please refer to the third part for details.
5- The study needs a section on results and discussion to discuss the study results, otherwise why you are conducting this study.
Response: Thanks! In the revised manuscript, we have added a discussion of the experimental results. The specific content is as follows:
It is possible for any organization or individual who is not directly involved in the disa-greement 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 medi-ation 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 done. 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 dis-putes. Additionally, this can avoid the status inequality caused by the gap in economic strength and technical knowledge.
6- Literature review is very important so that you should compare your results with the results of previous studies. in the results and discussion section you can do this comparison.
Response: Thanks! Section 3.1 gives the experimental results and experimental analysis based on the method in this paper. When analyzing, we compared other research methods to analyze the experimental results. For details, please refer to the text marked in purple in Section 3.1.
7- Add recommendations at the end of the study.
Response: Thanks! Relevant suggestions have been added to the conclusion section, with the specific content as follows:
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 related 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.
8- Only 21 references have been used. You should use at least 40 references to ensure the study considered most of the previous publications results which have been published in this field.
Response: Thanks! In the latest version of the revised manuscript, we have added the introduction of relevant research. Please refer to the latest references for details.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
This reviewer thanks the authors for their views in this paper. The journal article here is not an empirical research document but an opinion and experiential narrative. And a useful contribution to that genre. I have no problem with that if the editors of this journal are happy with this too.
Since this article is an opinion, I have no further comment (there being no methods or results per se).
I would like to observe that some of the 'turns of phrase' and word selection in the paper need a thorough review as sometimes the logical argument gets severely lost.
Author Response
Thank you for the suggestions provided by the reviewers, which have been very helpful to our article. We have made revisions based on the comments. Please review the response and download the reply letter and the revised article.
1.This reviewer thanks the authors for their views in this paper. The journal article here is not an empirical research document but an opinion and experiential narrative. And a useful contribution to that genre. I have no problem with that if the editors of this journal are happy with this too.
Response: Thanks! We would like to express our gratitude to the reviewers for recognizing the hard work that went into creating this post. We promise to do everything in our power to enhance and perfect the content.
2.Since this article is an opinion, I have no further comment (there being no methods or results per se).
Response: Thanks! In point of fact, the experimental analysis is presented in the third section of this paper. The results that are pertinent are produced by the application of the statistical analysis method described in this article. On the basis of this result, pertinent conclusions have been drawn. This is the primary argument that is made throughout the piece. I would like to thank the reviewers for acknowledging the hard work that was put into this essay. Thank you again.
3.I would like to observe that some of the 'turns of phrase' and word selection in the paper need a thorough review as sometimes the logical argument gets severely lost.
Response: Thanks! As a solution to this issue, we have revised the terminology that is used throughout the entire text. The quality of the language that has been optimized has been greatly improved. Thank you in advance for reviewing the reviewer once more.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Dear Authors,
Thank you for submitting this manuscript.
Although the paper addresses a relevant topic, in its current form it lacks the scientific rigor and methodology needed to be published in an academic journal. My suggestion is to follow the classical structure of a scientific journal, including one or more research questions and explaining why your paper is original with respect to the academic debate on the topic (introduction and theoretical framework), stating in detail where information comes from and how you conducted your research (methodology), before including results and discussing your findings (results and discussion) and summarizing them, as well as answering to the research questions (conclusions). I also suggest you to update your data.
Best wishes!
Author Response
Although the paper addresses a relevant topic, in its current form it lacks the scientific rigor and methodology needed to be published in an academic journal. My suggestion is to follow the classical structure of a scientific journal, including one or more research questions and explaining why your paper is original with respect to the academic debate on the topic (introduction and theoretical framework), stating in detail where information comes from and how you conducted your research (methodology), before including results and discussing your findings (results and discussion) and summarizing them, as well as answering to the research questions (conclusions). I also suggest you to update your data.
Response: Thanks! The suggestion made by the reviewers is that the structure of this article should be adjusted to become a common article structure in this industry. The first is the introduction, then the introduction of theoretical knowledge, the third is the experimental results based on the methods used and their analysis, and finally the conclusion. In fact, this article is written according to such a framework. The first part is an introduction, which explains the research background and significance of the article, as well as the main work of this article. The second part gives the relevant theory, including the description of the existing related literature. The third part is the experimental part. This article uses the method of statistical analysis and introduces the number of environmental disputes from 2013 to 2021 to analyze the role of third-party regulation in it. In the revised manuscript, there are some problems with the data of some years in Table 2, and we have corrected the error. Please review the reviewer again.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 4 Report
This article only compares third-party mediation with existing environmental dispute resolution methods and analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of third-party mediation in environmental dispute practice. Introduced the role and development of third-party mediation in disputes over natural environmental pollution control in various countries. The suggestions for improving the third-party mediation system for environmental disputes in China are shallow and have little practical value, and the current version is still far from being published.
Author Response
Dear Reviewer,
Thank you for your suggestion. We have revised the article again. We hope you can review our revisions and be satisfied with our revisions. Thank you again for your help, which has greatly improved our article.
Best regards.
Reviewer 5 Report
The paper presents the role can play a mediation party in environmental disputes in China. I have no comments for more improvements.
Author Response
Dear Reviewer,
Thank you for your previous suggestion. Your suggestion has been very helpful to us, and we have reviewed and revised the article once again.
Best regards.
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Dear authors,
The following comments can be presented herewith:
1- The abstract is still missing the methodology and the results. You should clearly present the methodology that you followed and what the results you have reached.
2- Add literature review as a separate section.
3- You should add a separate section on "results and discussion". This section should show us the results that you have reached and how did you interpret them. You also might compare your results with the previous research results.
4- For me, the manuscript is still missing a clear structure, so please make sure the manuscript includes the following: Abstract, Introduction, Literature review, Method, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion.
Best regards,
Author Response
1- The abstract is still missing the methodology and the results. You should clearly present the methodology that you followed and what the results you have reached.
Response: Thanks for your comment. Based on the comments, the optimized abstract of the paper is as follows:
Environmental issues such as industrial pollution, excessive packaging, light pollution, and rub-bish pollution in households are all growing at an alarming rate with the rapid rise of the economy. It is necessary for the department 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 mech-anisms for the resolution of environmental conflicts; nevertheless, these mechanisms are still un-able to fulfill all of the requirements that the public has for the resolution of environmental dis-putes, and a significant percentage of disputes cannot be resolved on time. The Chinese govern-ment 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 un-derstanding. 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 environ-mental disputes and makes comparisons between the traditional method of resolving environ-mental 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, sug-gestions are put forward to improve the third-party mediation system of environmental disputes in our country.
2- Add literature review as a separate section.
Response: Thanks for your comment. Based on the comments of the reviewers, we have added relevant literature descriptions on the concept of environmental disputes, the classification of environmental disputes, and the concept of third-party mediation in the manuscript. See the second part of the manuscript for details. Thanks again.
3- You should add a separate section on "results and discussion". This section should show us the results that you have reached and how did you interpret them. You also might compare your results with the previous research results.
Response: Thanks for your comment. The third part of this paper uses statistical analysis methods to analyze the solutions to environmental disputes in China, and obtains the experimental analysis results. See subsections 3.1 and 3.2 in the manuscript. These experimental results are also discussed below the graphs. On the whole, the third part is the experimental analysis part, and the fourth part gives relevant suggestions for the experimental analysis and discussion results. Therefore, in fact, the third section of this paper is the experimental analysis, and the fourth section is the related discussion for the experimental analysis. This experiment uses the experimental data from 2013-2015 to predict the trend of data changes in the next 4 years. The predicted data can be compared with the real data to verify the validity of the proposals proposed in this paper. For details, please refer to the third and fourth sections.
4- For me, the manuscript is still missing a clear structure, so please make sure the manuscript includes the following: Abstract, Introduction, Literature review, Method, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion.
Response: Thanks for your comment. The revised manuscript has been optimized as far as possible based on the structure proposed by the reviewers. The revised chapter table of contents is as follows:
1 Introduction
- Literature review
- Analysis of problems existing in third-party mediation of environmental disputes in China based on statistical analysis methods
- Discussion on the third-party adjustment system
5 Conclusion
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Dear Authors,
Thank you for revising your manuscript. Unfortunately, the paper still lacks scientific rigor, being structured more as an informative paper than as an academic one.
Best regards
Author Response
Dear Reviewer,
Thank you for your suggestion. We have made further improvements based on our previous feedback. I believe the current improvements can respond to your questions and we hope you can review our revised article again.
Thank you again for your suggestion, it has been very helpful to us.
Best regards.
Reviewer 4 Report
The article has been greatly improved, but the introduction still needs to strengthen the reference literature related to environmental dispute governance as support. Please consider citing the following references as a supplement and refinement to the introduction.
1.https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116291
2. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115873
3.https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116271
5.https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101473
Author Response
Reply: Thanks! The relevant studies pointed out by the reviewers have been added to the Introduction section, and the references and details are as follows:
- Lihua Yang, Qi Ma, Hongfu Liu, 2022. Reasons and resolution approaches of environmental conflict in grassland areas: An empirical study in contemporary northern China, Journal of Environmental Management. 323,116291.
- Maomao Zhang, Shukui Tan, Zichun Pan, Daoqing Hao, Xuesong Zhang, Zhenhuan Chen, 2022. The spatial spillover effect and nonlinear relationship analysis between land resource misallocation and environmental pollution: Evidence from China, Journal of Environmental Management. 321,115873.
- Athanasios Alexandru Gavrilidis, Andreea Nita, Laurentiu Rozylowicz, 2022.Past local industrial disasters and involvement of NGOs stimulate public participation in transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment, Journal of Environmental Man-agement. 324, 116271.
- Harold Rickenbacker, Fred Brown, Melissa Bilec, 2019. Creating environmental consciousness in underserved communities: Implementation and outcomes of community-based environmental justice and air pollution research, Sustainable Cities and So-ciety. 47, 101473.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 3
Reviewer 1 Report
Dear authors,
Greetings and thank you for your efforts.
Some points still need reconsider:
1- In the abstract, add brief about the results. The results that you reached in your study should be very clear in the abstract.
2- Before "Discussion on the third-party adjustment system", add a paragraph about the "Research Methodology". Then you start discussing the results, "Discussion on the third-party adjustment system" and the next sections.
All the best,
Author Response
Reply to Reviewer 1
1- In the abstract, add brief about the results. The results that you reached in your study should be very clear in the abstract.
Reply: Thanks! According to the comments, the contents added in the abstract are as follows:
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 ecological balance.
2- Before "Discussion on the third-party adjustment system", add a paragraph about the "Research Methodology". Then you start discussing the results, "Discussion on the third-party adjustment system" and the next sections.
Reply: Thanks! The added content of “Research Methodology” is as follows:
Statistical analysis methods to study the role of third-party mediation in environmental disputes can take the following analytical steps:
Step 1: Collect data: Collect data related 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.
Step 2: Descriptive statistical analysis: Conduct descriptive statistical analysis on 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.
Step 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.
Step 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.
Step 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.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Dear Authors,
Thank you for revising the paper, which has now consistently improved with respect to the previous versions and can be accepted in its current form.
Author Response
Dear Reviewers.
Thank you for the comments you have given us, they have been invaluable to us.
Best regards
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
