Public Participation Procedures Research Articles

Hungarian Experiences with Public Participation in Water Management

The paper reviews the experience of public participation in water management decisions since the political transition in Hungary. Ongoing practices of public participation are examined through the critical analysis of three cases: (i) the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros dam project which has been known as the source of Europe's longest and most complex transboundary environmental conflict; (ii) the development of water quality legislation by the national government; and (iii) an integrated land use planning project in the region of the Szentendrei-island. Based on the above cases, factors promoting and hindering effective public participation are identified. Key promoting factors include the activity and professionalism of civil society organizations, the financial support provided by international funding agencies and other foreign sponsors, the methodological support provided by professional organizations, and the social learning process taking place in the society. Factors hindering effective public participation include the resistance to public participation on the part of several public officials and planners, the lack of methodological knowledge to manage public participation procedures effectively, the lack of interest and passivity on the part of the public, the lack of trust between various stakeholders, and some recent negative trends in the development of civil society. It is concluded that although the existence of a legal framework, which allows for the possibility of public involvement, is a necessary precondition for comprehensive public participation, but it must be supplemented by other elements that facilitate public participation.

The Nature of ecosystem management: postmodernism and plurality in the sustainable management of the boreal forest

Abstract Ecosystem management, by seeking to emulate natural disturbance, has been proposed by the ecological and forest management community as a means of maintaining the biodiversity and productivity of boreal forests, key components of sustainable forest management (SFM). However, it is argued that ecosystem management overlooks the paradox inherent in the concept of Nature, limiting the scope of the SFM debate by maintaining a binary opposition between Nature and Society, humans and the environment. Nature is paradoxical because humans are part of Nature, by the theory of evolution, while at the same time Nature is a social construction created by humans, and thus artificial. Recourse is made to postmodernism in order to examine the metaphysical and sociopolitical implications of the deconstruction of this paradox. Based on a review of the philosophy of Foucault and Derrida, the concept of Nature is demonstrated to be socially mediated, an entwinement of reason and power. In order to address metaphysical challenges of the Nature–Society dualism identified above, I refer to Habermas’s theory of communicative action and cite results from a case study in this regard. Results from this case study prompt a critical examination of the legitimacy of a discourse ethic about Nature, making use of the negative dialectics of Adorno. As a result, at the metaphysical level, a different role for ecologists and forest managers in public participation procedures is proposed, one whereby ecologists talk through Nature to the evolutionary agents to which it is intended to refer as a means of discussing whether specific management options will contribute to sustainable development. It is argued that at the sociopolitical level SFM will necessitate improved transparency and participation in forestry, criteria that can be attained through community-based ecosystem management. Both elements require a science more actively engaged with civil society.

Public Participation Methods: A Framework for Evaluation

There is a growing call for greater public involvement in establishing science and technology policy, in line with democratic ideals. A variety of public participation procedures exist that aim to consult and involve the public, ranging from the public hearing to the consensus conference. Unfortunately, a general lack of empirical consideration of the quality of these methods arises from confusion as to the appropriate benchmarks for evaluation. Given that the quality of the output of any participation exercise is difficult to determine, the authors suggest the need to consider which aspects of the process are desirable and then to measure the presence or quality of these process aspects. To this end, a number of theoretical evaluation criteria that are essential for effective public participation are specified. These comprise two types: acceptance criteria, which concern features of a method that make it acceptable to the wider public, and process criteria, which concern features of the process that are liable to ensure that it takes place in an effective manner. Future research needs to develop instruments to measure these criteria more precisely and identify the contextual and environmental factors that will mediate the effectiveness of the different participation methods.

Training in Skills for Coping with Democracy

This article presents experiences from projects aimed at training citizens (especially environmental leaders, local government officials, and mayors) in group decision processes, public participation procedures, conflict resolution, and mediation approaches. The general purpose of these activities has been to assist the development of democratic skills in citizens with decision-making power. Third-sector organizations (nongovernmental, nonprofit organizations) play a significant role in this process of challenging old values and introducing new ones through open communication. The author generalizes from his experience in conducting training over the last three years.

Corporate response to coastal zone management: A case study of the Irvine coastal area

Abstract This article describes in a chronological format the planning process that the Irvine Company of Newport Beach, California, undertook to prepare a plan for 10,000 acres of land with 71/2 miles of beach in Orange County, California. The process has taken seven years and has parallelled the evolution of state coastal planning in California, which began in 1972. The planning process is divided into a series of phases (sections in the article), each of which is analyzed for lessons that could be used to improve the adoption of future public policies and regulations. The article describes, for example, the Irvine Company's response to public participation procedures, the use of environmental data, the integration of divergent policies from many public agencies, the effects of change over time and expresses concern about the impact that intergovernmental procedures may have on integrated and site‐specific land‐use plans.