ABSTRACT: The nature of Ecologically Sustainable Development ESD) is that it can potentially be achieved through a range of resource management options. The use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes provides an effective means for divergent interests to find an appropriate and acceptable ESD balance. This article presents a case study of the Regional Forest Agreements process in New South Wales. The process was lauded as having made novel use of negotiation to reach agreement over forest resources. It is argued that the process can provide a good starting point for achieving satisfactory community participation in sustainability management, both in the forest industry and elsewhere. However, it is argued that the RFA process in NSW failed to deliver on its promise to finally ‘resolve’ the conflict over forest management. The article concludes that to describe the process as genuine negotiation is a misnomer since the parties at no time had the authority to provide government with a final outcome. Interviews with key stakeholder participants from industry, union and environmental groups underpin the analysis.