There are many reasons why members of the public and stakeholders should participate in law-making, including having a role in "best practice in law-making". Consultation provides a way to test the clarity, comprehension and likely effectiveness of proposed legislation. In the PALM Region, participatory consultation will help to better identify social and ecological problems associated with achieving a sustainable land management (SLM) and how to maximise the quality and effectiveness of SLM legislation for the region. When the diverse range of affected interests and groups is included, especially disadvantaged and marginalised people in the PALM Region, SLM law-making decisions are more likely to be based on more complete information about the law itself, its impact and operation for the region. Global experience indicates that national environmental laws that are based on incomplete information will often need to be subsequently reformed. This not only incurs additional government and parliamentary time and resources, but also collateral costs associated with unintended or unforeseen impacts or injustice. Such costs may be substantial and significant, but they are difficult to calculate and are not likely to be compensated.