Environmental Decision-making Processes Research Articles

Engagement in the digital age: Understanding “what works” for participatory technologies in environmental decision-making

Effective engagement is crucial for enhancing environmental decision-making processes, fostering more sustainable and equitable outcomes. However, the success of engagement is highly variable and context-dependent. While theoretical frameworks have been developed to explain outcome variance in engagement in environmental decision-making, they have not yet been tested in digital contexts, leaving their applicability to digital engagement processes unclear. More broadly, there are unanswered questions about the effectiveness of digital tools in achieving the goals of engagement, which have become increasingly pertinent amidst growing concerns about the potential of digital technologies for exacerbating exclusions, ethical issues, and systematically undermining democratic progress. This paper addresses this evidence gap by presenting findings from interviews with practitioners in UK public, private, and third sector organisations. Our results provide empirical insights into the technical, ethical, and inclusivity debates surrounding digital tools and their effectiveness in promoting accessible engagement, high-quality social interaction, place-based decision-making, and more trustworthy and credible outcomes. Our findings indicate that while current engagement theories are applicable to digital environments, the key explanatory factors acquire new dimensions in digital compared to in-person contexts. Drawing on the findings, this study contributes novel insights to expand current theory for explaining “what works” in engagement in environmental decisions, enhancing its relevance and applicability in the digital age. The paper concludes with evidence-led recommendations for environmental practitioners to improve engagement processes in digital and remote settings.

AI-Driven Solutions for a Low-Carbon Transition: Evaluating Effectiveness and Limitations in Climate Change Mitigation

Climate change, primarily caused by human activities, poses a significant global challenge. Countries worldwide are integrating efforts to combat climate change through initiatives such as the Paris Agreement and setting targets to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. This paper explores the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) as a promising solution to address climate change, particularly through the analysis of mass data. AI can aid in environmental decision-making processes, optimize renewable energy use, and accelerate the global transition to a low-carbon economy. Using public data from the OECD, the study investigates the effectiveness of AI in promoting a low-carbon economy by examining its impact on greenhouse gas emissions, carbon footprint, investment in research and development, renewable energy production, and recycling rates. The findings suggest that AI has been considerably effective in supporting the growth of renewable energy and recycling while restraining gas emissions and carbon footprint. However, the study also identifies potential limitations, such as the carbon release from AI itself, and suggests further improvements to AI models.

Planning incapacitated: Environmental planning and the political ecology of austerity

Coal mining in the UK, once central to its political economy, has been in terminal decline for decades for both political and more recently environmental reasons. Against the grain of this decline, the proposal of a new metallurgical coal mine near Whitehaven (on the north west coast of England) has caused significant controversy. Those supporting the mines development say it is necessary to ‘level up’ from the previous decade of austerity, whereas opponents argue that new coal mining would severely undermine the transition to low carbon energy sources. Through a discourse analysis and open-ended interviews, this paper analyses the contestation of the mine through the environmental planning process, identifying how both the discursive contestation and decision-making practices are shaped by political logics (austerity/levelling up) and ecological logics (climate change). The paper finds that, as states turn towards greater levels of public subsidies as a new form of crisis management, the environmental decision-making processes which can determine the shape of investments have been severely undermined through a decade or more of reduced public investment, policy streamlining and a lack of public expertise. The paper argues that even though states may be turning towards policies subsidising energy projects, they are doing so in a context where there is a lack of state capacity due to a ‘political ecology of austerity’, limiting public capacity to plan for a better future.

Public Voices in the Environmental Decision-Making in Georgia

The article presents the results of the scientific research and gives the ways to solve the problems dedicated to PP (public participation) in the process of EDM (environmental decision-making) in Georgia. Several obstacles were found, by studying the environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Georgia. All necessary information was collected through interviews and questionnaires. The study discusses the existing legislation on this issue and aims to find answers to these obstacles. Four hypotheses were developed - transparency in the decision-making process promotes successful public participation, effective cooperation with one another is a better way for NGOs to participate in the environmental decision-making process, Georgian NGO’s successful participation in the process of DM (decision-making) was related to the development of an environmental legal system, self-financing helps the Environmental NGOs in Georgia to improve their financial status and increase their flexibility in the EDM process. The Soviet regime caused the nonexistence of PP approaches in EDM. Currently, many international and trans-boundary projects are taking place and will be completed shortly in Georgia. The participation of the public, especially non-governmental organizations is a key point and crucial element in decision making as most of these developments entail additional environmental problems and to prevent damage to the environment and foster sustainable development when such projects are completed. The research gives key provisions that require improvement to increase the effectiveness of PP in EDM process.
 Keywords: public participation, environment, decision-making, NGOs

Extrajudicial Dispute Resolution in Handling Environmental Cases in Indonesia (Case Study: River Water Pollution by PT Sugar Labinta in South Lampung)

This paper examines extrajudicial dispute resolution mechanisms utilized in addressing environmental cases in Indonesia, with a focus on a specific case involving the alleged pollution of river water by PT Sugar Labinta in South Lampung. It delves into the legal frameworks, stakeholder engagement processes, and outcomes of extrajudicial dispute resolution efforts in environmental matters. Drawing on a case study approach, the paper analyzes the effectiveness and challenges of extrajudicial mechanisms in resolving environmental disputes, particularly in cases of alleged pollution by industrial entities. It explores the roles of various stakeholders, including government agencies, industry representatives, affected communities, and non-governmental organizations, in the resolution process. Furthermore, the paper evaluates the implications of extrajudicial dispute resolution on environmental protection, legal accountability, and community rights. It examines the extent to which such mechanisms contribute to the realization of environmental justice, sustainable development, and corporate responsibility in Indonesia. In conclusion, the paper offers insights into the strengths and limitations of extrajudicial dispute resolution in handling environmental cases, using the PT Sugar Labinta case as a lens. It suggests recommendations for improving the effectiveness and fairness of extrajudicial mechanisms, enhancing transparency, accountability, and community participation in environmental decision-making processes.

Participation in an indigenous Amazonian-led ayahuasca retreat associated with increases in nature relatedness – a pilot study

Indigenous Amazonian shamanic ayahuasca practice is embedded in a nature-based context and is employed as an ecological mediating agent and in collective environmental decision-making processes by some of the groups that use it. Phenomenologically, the ayahuasca experience is often rich in nature-based themes and content, and its usage has been associated with eliciting shifts in perspectives and attitudes towards nature. In this proof-of-concept study, participation in an ayahuasca retreat in a traditional Indigenous Amazonian context (with a mean of 6.31 ceremonies attended) was associated with significant increases in nature relatedness directly following ayahuasca retreats as assessed via the Short form Nature Relatedness Scale (NR-6) and The Extended Inclusion of Nature in Self scale (EINS), and improvements in depression and stress as assessed via the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) were also found, but not on the anxiety subscale. Furthermore, a significant negative correlation with moderate effect size was found between changes in nature-relatedness and stress, suggesting that an increase in nature relatedness is associated with decreased stress levels after attending Amazonian ayahuasca retreats in our sample. It is currently unclear if the changes seen were due to consumption of the ayahuasca brew, participation in ceremony, or the retreat setting itself. Although this pilot study suggests a potential therapeutic role for Amazonian ayahuasca retreats as a multidimensional intervention, further work is required to assess the role of possible mediators underlying such shifts, while evaluating to what extent these are sustained for long term.

Relational environmental governance: A critical framework for praxis with the material world

Environmental governance (EG) has become a hegemonic concept for understanding and transforming environmental decision-making processes that operate beyond the state. However, political ecologists, drawing from a diverse set of theoretical frameworks, have critiqued the concept for being malleable, vague, and apolitical, which has enabled its appropriation in ways that conceal inequality and difference, advocate techno-managerial fixes, and espouse neoliberal solutions. Political ecologists have approached EG more critically with the conceptual tools of neoliberal natures, environmental regulation, and eco-governmentality. In this article, we contend that these conceptualizations, while theoretically rich, are limited in their capacity to capture a diversity of governance contexts, processes, and actors and to drive both scholarly analysis and radical change. Thus, we put forward a conceptual framework of relational environmental governance (REG) that captures the dynamic and unequal interactions among heterogeneous human and non-human actors by which socio-ecological arrangements are structured, controlled, and transformed. Drawing from a variety of relational traditions, the framework comprises four key "moves" related to i) ontological understandings of EG processes as full of unequal power relations and heterogeneous actors, ii) epistemological privileging of intersections among racialized, gendered, queer and/or alternative or Indigenous knowledges in EG processes, iii) methodological emphasis on conducting research relationally with diverse EG actors, and iv) a praxis of engagement with EG processes to change how socio-ecologies are controlled and address crises of sustainability.

THE ROLE OF GENDER NORMS AND POWER RELATIONS IN SHAPING ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION-MAKING, AND HOW THEY CAN BE ANALYZED THROUGH A GENDER LENS

Gender norms and power relations are pivotal in shaping environmental decision-making processes and outcomes, often in ways that go unnoticed

Inclusive Environmental Decision-making in a Developing Nation: Insights from the Ogoni Remediation Project, Niger Delta, Nigeria

Greater involvement of women is globally believed to enhance environmental management outcomes. Despite being disproportionately affected by environmental degradation primarily caused by oil spills in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, women in the region are often excluded in environmental decision-making processes. Women involved in farming and fishing face increased vulnerability to contaminated land, food insecurity and conflicts driven by environmental degradation. Using a mixed approach, women, lawmakers, policymakers, regulators, civil society organizations, environmental management practitioners, and government agents responsible for environmental remediation were engaged through interviews, focus group discussions and questionnaires to examine women’s inclusion in environmental decision-making and governance in the Ogoni contaminated land remediation project in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The results indicate that lack of trust and confidence in drivers of the environmental decision-making process could affect women’s participation and involvement in environmental management. Although cultural beliefs and practices impede the participation of women in the region, their actual participation does not independently translate into inclusion in environmental decision-making due to limited capacity, confidence and trust in the process. Creating platforms for capacity building, developing gender policy, adapting appropriate communication strategies, initiating women networks and strengthening social cohesion could enhance women involvement in environmental decision-making in regions with similar cultural context to the Niger Delta region.

The Human Right to Public Participation in Environmental Decision-making: Some Legal Reflections

Recent years have seen an increase in climate-related protests and demonstrations. There is a clear disparity between the opinions of the public and those of the state in relation to climate change and how it should be tackled. At the heart of the problem is poor communication between citizens and state actors, which has resulted in a lack of support from the public for the state’s climate policy formulation and implementation processes. To increase support for new and existing climate-related policies and initiatives, and to ensure that the fundamental human right to public participation is protected, the state must make a concerted effort to engage with the public during the policy formulation, introduction, application and monitoring phases. This would ensure that state actors are better informed about the concerns of the public and that, when promoting decision-making in climate-related policies, citizens are given opportunities to exercise their right to public participation. It would also promote transparency and accountability in the decision-making process and create a more engaged citizenry and inclusive society. The processes driving greater public participation are not new; they have been encouraged and supported by United Nations (UN) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and have been incorporated into environmental law both at the national level and at an international level through the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, it may be necessary to rethink and reframe existing public participatory processes to encourage stronger cooperation between all stakeholders in environmental decision-making processes including climate change.

Pecan Biomass and Dairy Manure Utilization: Compost Treatment and Soil In-Situ Comparisons of Selected Pecan Crop and Soil Variables

A compost program was developed on-farm, utilizing tree trimming biomass from a commercial pecan farm comprised of 14-year-old improved cultivar Western Schley pecan (Carya illinoinensis) tree stands. The direct soil application of shredded pecan tree biomass (P) and dairy manure (M) served as a standard on-farm practice. Three composts were produced using P and M with varying levels of other inputs and processing. The PM compost contained only P and M and its production included only weekly turning and watering. The other two composts included P, M, unfinished compost, and clay inputs, and either additional landscaping residues (A) (designated PM/A compost) or “green chop” (on-farm grown legumes, G) (designated PMG/A compost); production of PM/A and PMG/A composts included additional processing steps intended to improve compost quality per the recommendations of a compost consulting company. Soil samples were taken at three depths (0–15 cm, 15–30 cm, 30–61 cm) in November 2017 from the 1.3 ha study plot of trees. The standard practice and compost treatments were applied at approximately 18 t/ha in January 2018 and 2019 at a 15 cm depth. Soils were re-sampled at the end of the two-year study. Composts and soils were analyzed for: pH, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), electrical conductivity, and total carbon, organic matter, magnesium, calcium, sodium, nitrate-N, total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), available phosphorus, potassium, zinc, manganese, iron, and copper contents. Pecan tree leaf nutrient content, stem water potential, and leaf greenness were also measured one and two years after soil amendment application. While increases in several soil properties were observed with the treatments, only available phosphorus content was significantly different between pre and post at all depths. Electrical conductivity, TKN, Fe, Cu, SAR, and Na content showed significant differences in the upper soil layers. No differences in leaf properties were observed. This suggests that there are minimal differences in the outcomes for compost application compared to in-situ biomass application; additional compost inputs and processing did not provide additional short-term soil or plant benefits for pecan tree production. More work is needed to determine if there are long-term benefits to soil quality, plant health and performance, or carbon sequestration that impact the economic and environmental decision-making processes for composting and application of local organic wastes.

A participação da sociedade em processos de tomada de decisão de caráter ambiental: os casos do Ministério Público Estadual e do Conselho Municipal do Meio Ambiente no município de São Carlos – SP

A emergência das questões ambientais tem sido acompanhada por debates em nível mundial a respeito do paradigma da sustentabilidade como uma forma de equacionar os conflitos oriundos da relação entre o desenvolvimento humano e o meio ambiente, sendo consensuado que a participação da sociedade em processos de tomada de decisão constitui um dos aspectos fundamentais para a transição para um modelo sustentável de desenvolvimento. No Brasil a Constituição Federal e a Política Nacional de Meio Ambiente oferecem lugar destacado à participação da sociedade nas estratégias de proteção ao meio ambiente, sendo reservado ao Ministério Público (MP) e aos Conselhos de Meio Ambiente funções específicas para esta finalidade, além de assegurar espaços para a representação direta da sociedade civil. Adotando-se a perspectiva de que a efetividade da participação social está diretamente relacionada à distribuição do poder decisório, procurou-se analisar em que medida a participação social é promovida no âmbito de tais órgãos (empregando-se as categorias não existente, fraca, e efetiva) e identificar os respectivos fatores intervenientes. O trabalho adota uma abordagem mista de pesquisa, valendo-se da análise da documentação levantada para 276 processos de tomada de decisão ocorridos ao longo de uma década no município de São Carlos (SP), complementada por registros realizados durante reuniões e audiências, e uso de ferramental computacional para a interpretação dos dados. Os resultados indicam distintos níveis de participação, não sendo possível estabelecer um padrão entre as categorias empregadas para a classificação dos processos, o que permite reafirmar a influência do contexto como elemento de grande importância para a efetividade da participação da sociedade em processos de tomada de decisão de caráter ambiental. Ainda assim, as evidências permitem concluir pela importância de ambos - MP e conselhos - como elementos essenciais para que a sociedade possa ser informada e influenciar decisivamente nas decisões tomadas.

An Innovative Partnership and Methods for Knowledge Co-Production in Water Governance. The case study of the Gesso Stura Natural Park.

This report describes the education, research activities and productive dialogue that took place over a 3-day workshop at the Gesso Stura Natural Park (Italy, Piedmont Region). The project was coordinated by Prof. Eva Julia Lohse in collaboration with Prof. Margherita Paola Poto, and funded by the DAAD to establish and strengthen collaboration between the University of Bayreuth and the University of Turin. The workshop aimed to explore interdisciplinary, novel methods for (legal and political) water governance in the age of climate crisis. It investigated how co-production of knowledge can be used in environmental decision-making processes so as to reach better decisions based on a broader knowledge base, increase acceptance of protection measures by the public, and improve management of areas hit by severe droughts to guarantee access to water for communities. The workshop builds on the long-standing cooperation between the two principal researchers and their institutions regarding participation in environmental decision-making, sustainable development and water governance in Italy and Germany. This cooperation has been further developed by joint research on co-production of knowledge with indigenous and local communities to address the complex legal and social questions raised by the climate crisis.

"Environmental Management Accounting: Analysis of Environmental Costs and Decision-Making in the Organisation "

Environmental management accounting (EMA) is a relatively new tool in environmental management. EMA can be defined as the identification, collection, estimation, analysis, internal reporting, and use of information regarding materials and energy flow and environmental costs for both conventional and environmental decision-making process within an organisation. Thus, EMA incorporates and integrates two of the three milestones of sustainable development (environmental and economics dimensions), as they relate to an organisation’s internal decisional process.

A Debate on Environmental Management Accounting

Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) refers to a set of accounting and performance tools dedicated to companies’ actions towards improvement of their environmental impact. Furthermore, EMA deals exclusively with the company’s internal costs, as it does not include the external costs of individuals, society, or the economic environment over which the company has no decision-making power. It is recognised that EMA is a relatively new tool in environmental management, which can be defined as the identification, collection, estimation, analysis, internal reporting, and use of information regarding materials and energy flow and environmental costs for both conventional and environmental decision-making process within an organisation. Thus, EMA incorporates and integrates two of the three milestones of sustainable development (environmental and economics dimensions), as they relate to an organisation’s internal decisional process.

News Media Framing of the Environmental Issues: A Transnational Comparative Analysis of Pakistan and Britain

This study examined environmental issues from framing perspective. It attempts to understand the framing schemes in the purposively sampled newspapers of Pakistan and the UK. Under the constructionist view of framing analysis revealed that environmental communication is massively suffering from hypocognition which resulting the lack of effective framing perspectives and often construct major obstacles in efficient environmental management and policy making. Variability in framing perspectives influence the individual value systems, beliefs, preferences and reactions to environmental hazards in environmental decision-making process. Moreover, comparative approach of this quantitative study within the universe of year 2007 to 2016 sample of 1,139 news stories reflects the significant differences in news framing capacity of Pakistani and British print media while reporting of environmental issues.

Enumeration area imputation methods for producing sub-municipal data in the Italian permanent population and housing census

Over the years, official statistics have shown an increasing territorial focus on providing detailed and quality information. The Population and Housing Census has always ensured the availability of sub-municipal data useful for social, economic, and environmental decision-making processes. The new Italian Permanent Census focuses heavily on the integration of administrative and sample data and plans to provide more stable and consistent statistical data at the various territorial levels every year. Within this framework, sub-municipal data are derived from the integration of the Base Register of Individuals and the Base Register of Places. Data accuracy depends on the quality of the registers and the procedures adopted to integrate and process the input data. In this regard, Istat is working to improve geocoding information and linking procedures. One of the problems encountered is the presence of non-geocoded units due to problems in the administrative data. Istat has studied a procedure that integrates deterministic and probabilistic approaches to assign the enumeration area code to these critical units. It was conducted an experimental study to assess the quality of the imputation procedure. In this paper, we discuss the approach adopted, the evaluation process, the results obtained, and the impact on data quality.

Public Voices and Environmental Decisions: The Escazú Agreement in Comparative Perspective

AbstractSince the Escazú Agreement entered into force in 2021, many have looked forward to the realization of its goal of further entrenching environmental democratic rights and enabling sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. The severe environmental and related human rights challenges in the region have caught global attention, and the Agreement is most timely in its pursuit of contributing to addressing the situation. This article assesses the quality of, and the extent to which, the right of the public to participate in environmental decision-making processes under the Escazú Agreement can enable the regime to achieve its goal, and how best this right might be strengthened where necessary. This assessment is executed within the context of local peculiarities of the LAC region and good practice in the field, as reflected in the Aarhus Convention and the UNEP Bali Guidelines. The study finds that while aspects of the participatory right regime in the Escazú Agreement are sound – and align with or go beyond existing good practice – some key provisions require improvement in order to increase the effectiveness of the Agreement.

EXAMINING TREKKERS’ ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY BEHAVIOR USING AN EXTENDED MODEL OF GOAL-DIRECTED BEHAVIOR (MGB) AND A NEW ECOLOGICAL PARADIGM SCALE (NEP)

Tourism has a substantial environmental impact, and nature-based tourism is particularly vulnerable to tourists’ activities. Individuals must be aware of the consequential ecological effects during nature-based tourism activities such as trekking. Trekking is a widespread nature-based tourism activity in fragile mountainous and hilly regions. The trekkers’ activities extensively affect the conservation of vegetation along the trail. Therefore, it is essential to study trekkers’ attitudes, intentions, and behavior towards the environment. The objective of this study is to investigate the pro-environmental behaviors of trekkers. The goal-directed behavior (MGB) model framework and a new ecological paradigm scale (NEP) were integrated to examine trekkers’ environmental decision-making process. The new ecological paradigm (NEP) scale measured trekkers’ environmental concerns, whereas the model of goal-directed behavior (MGB) explored environmentally friendly trekking intentions. The extended model analyzed 310 responses from trekkers who had trekking experience in Nepal. Statistical analyses, such as confirmatory factor analysis, descriptive analysis, reliability, and validity test, were performed with SPSS 24.0. Furthermore, structural equation modeling was conducted using AMOS 22.0 to test the significance of the developed hypotheses. This study revealed that trekkers are concerned about the environment and are aware of the earth’s resource limitations. Moreover, the significant role of emotion in the decision-making process was identified. The perceived behavioral control influenced both the desire and intention of environmentally friendly trekking. Additionally, desire significantly influenced the intention to perform environmentally friendly activities. However, the trekker’s attitude and subjective norms did not correlate substantially with desire. The obtained results indicate that the proposed extended model helps to understand the environmental behavior of trekkers. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are also discussed.

Life Cycle Assessment of Sensible, Latent and Thermochemical Thermal Energy Storage Systems for Climate Change Mitigation – A Systematic Review

Renewable energy sources coupled with thermal energy storage (TES) systems offer a better hope in mitigating climate change. But, in order to integrate TES systems into the grid, it is important to understand their environmental performances. Life cycle assessment (LCA) serves as a leading methodological tool for environmental decision-making processes that allows one to identify the critical areas of improvement in a product life cycle, and hence can be used effectively in climate change mitigation strategies. Due to the scarcity of review articles that provide useful information on the LCAs of TES systems, a total of 23 papers were reviewed in this study. These were reviewed under three categories: sensible heat storage (SHS) systems, latent heat storage (LHS) systems, and thermochemical heat storage (THS) systems. Further, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions arising from TES systems were evaluated, giving special attention on the global warming potential impact category. The production stage was found to be the major contributor to GWP in all three TES systems. Following this review study, it can be concluded that the environmental performance can be greatly enhanced through TES systems, due to significant reductions in GHG emissions. Keywords: LCA, thermal energy storage, sensible heat, latent heat, thermochemical heat, PCMs DOI: 10.7176/JETP/12-5-02 Publication date: November 30 th 2022