Successful Public Participation Research Articles

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

An assessment of the legal and policy framework for participatory forest governance in Bangladesh

A robust and well-designed legal and policy framework is vital for ensuring successful public participation in forest management and engaging local governments and communities in conservation efforts. However, despite the presence of various policies and laws aimed at protecting environmental and biological resources, Bangladesh continues to experience significant depletion of its forest resources. This can be largely attributed to inadequate implementation of forest laws, a weak institutional structure, and a bureaucratic approach to forest management. This article undertakes an analysis of Bangladesh's policy and legal framework concerning participatory forest governance. It specifically examines the incorporation of participatory elements within the country's legal and policy framework for forest management. The assessment encompasses forest tenure, land use, and the practice of participatory forest management (PFM). Furthermore, the effectiveness of social forestry and co-management, the two primary approaches to achieving participatory forest governance in Bangladesh, is evaluated. Additionally, the article identifies the challenges hindering the successful implementation of these approaches. The argument put forth is that despite the apparent support for participatory forest management within Bangladesh’s policy and legal framework, the actual implementation of PFM and sustainable forest management (SFM) remains ineffective. This ineffectiveness can be attributed to poor policy execution, prioritization of profit-generation over sustainable management practices, lack of coherence within the legal framework, and the centralized decision-making process regarding state-owned forests.

Effects of environmental pollution on wildlife and human Health and novel mitigation strategies

Environment refers to the totality of all external factors and conditions that have an impact on a living thing's survival and growth. The effects of pollution on wildlife and human health are complex and affect many ecosystems and facets of civilization. Urbanization, industrialization, and the indiscriminate and improper use of chemicals, such as pesticides, have all accelerated environmental degradation and contamination, which has a negative impact on living things' health and created issues with residues in animal-derived foods. The impact of pollution on biotic components has been highlighted by recent developments in environmental-related toxicity in humans and animals as well as the rising frequency of chemical residue detection in food products. To solve the complex problems caused by environmental contamination, innovation and new mitigation techniques are essential. The creation and use of cutting-edge technology, such as diverse bioremediation methods, are included. In order to bring about change and promote successful mitigation methods, public participation and awareness are essential. Governments, businesses, communities, and people must work together to address the problems that environmental degradation has created. We can lessen pollution's harmful impacts on wildlife and human health, guaranteeing a healthier and more sustainable future for both the ecosystem and people, by implementing creative mitigation measures and giving sustainable practices priority.

Natura 2000 public awareness in EU: A prerequisite for successful conservation policy

The Natura 2000 network is a system of managed natural areas exclusively designed to protect Europe's most valuable and threatened species and habitats and covers 18.6% of its land area, and 8.9% of its marine territory. Repeated Eurobarometer public opinion surveys show that European citizens are unaware of this broad network. Awareness is a prerequisite to successful participatory planning. The present work addresses two issues. First, it reflects on the presumed “low” level of Natura 2000 recognition among Europeans using the citizens' knowledge of similar concepts as a yardstick. Second, it explores whether aware and non-aware citizens are systematically and characteristically different from each other regarding their human capital, social and economic attributes. Data are sourced from publicly available Eurobarometer surveys summing up to a large dataset of 52,000 respondents across all EU countries and regions. The statistical analysis utilises a random intercept, multilevel ordered logistic, regression model that considers the ordinal nature of the Natura 2000 awareness dependent variable and the fact that European respondents cluster in regions and countries. The results highlight that a higher awareness level is related to more privileged citizens and reveal a substantial gender issue, a cognitive rural-urban separation and, possibly, a generational predisposition. Findings also disclose the complex and obscure geography of awareness. The revealed “biased awareness” is a threat to successful public participation. Environmental policy must be proactive about testing new ways to support higher awareness levels and rise to the challenge of providing an improved and inclusive awareness-raising strategy.

Empowering the Voiceless: Securing the Participation of Marginalised Groups in Climate Change Governance in South Africa

For many of the world’s poor people, adaptation to climate change is not a choice but a reality. Existing evidence suggests that the poor, particularly those in the developing world, are the most vulnerable to any changes in climate variability and change. Using research methods inspired by the tradition of participatory research, we explore and discuss community perceptions on climate change adaptation governance in South Africa. We examine the myriad ways in which climate change adaptation policies and strategies are developed, and we systematically discuss the factors which either facilitate or hamper the involvement of all stakeholders in the development of these intervention measures. Our findings indicate that women seem to be the group of people who are mostly unaware of community initiatives, policies, and strategies for the adaptation to climate change. Thus, it is argued that, although South Africa has developed good climate change initiatives, policies, and strategies, the implementation of these policies seems to present difficulties, as those for whom they have been developed do not seem to have any knowledge of their effectiveness in helping them build resilience against extreme weather events. This study recommends that, in order to achieve successful public participation in climate change adaptation policy development, there must be an all-inclusive system which incorporates all stakeholders, including vulnerable groups.

The Impact of Participatory Planning Approach on the Quality Urban Design of Former Riverbank Brownfield Sites

Processes of brownfield sites redevelopment are very well known and welcome especially by city councils. The new trend of reurbanization with focus on derelict and brownfield sites has reached the Central-East European space, too. City investors are reacting in prompt manner in order to attract new users of the redeveloped sites by good design of public spaces achieved and communicated by public hearings. The topic of participation processes in any development has solid theoretical framework, but the implementation phase often tends to fail. Successful and effective public participation uses properly chosen and appropriately applied tools and methods of participation at the most suitable time of the development process. The aim of the paper is to present how a good participatory planning can have a direct impact on the urban design quality. This participatory approach is explained on case studies of former brownfield sites situated on riverbanks in the cities of Trenčín and Bratislava. In both former riverbank brownfield sites the approach of public participation has been used in different phases and manners. The outcome varies due to the different stages of projects, but nevertheless both can provide a high quality urban design outcome.

Public perception toward residential solar panels in Bahrain

In 2017, Bahrain’s Cabinet endorsed the country’s first national renewable energy action plan. The plan included the installation of residential solar photovoltaic cells as a means of using renewable energy in government-built housing units. This was followed by the establishment of the country’s first photovoltaic solar panel manufacturing company and the introduction of a net metering policy. However, public acceptance of residential solar panels has not been researched. This study aimed to address this gap through the distribution of an online survey. A total of 764 complete responses were received. The results showed a considerable number of respondents were interested in installing solar panels. However, the respondents recognized several challenges in both buying and installing them, including capital cost, lack of information, and maintenance requirements. This study’s findings offer insights on how the public perceives solar panels, along with issues the government needs to address to ensure successful public participation in the use of solar energy in the residential sector in Bahrain.

Determinants of Public Participation in Kenya County Governments

The Constitution of Kenya 2010 introduced a framework for devolving public resources in Kenya’s forty-seven Counties. The Counties were given the responsibilities of maintaining health, roads and agriculture, among others. Using the Afrobarometer (2015) survey, we employ probit regression to examine the determinants of successful public participation in the Counties. We find that approval of the Governor’s performance has a positive and significant influence on public participation. However, difficulty among the citizenry in influencing County decision-making; lack of responsive County Assembly Members; difficulty in accessing information on County budgets, legislation and projects; and corruption in the Governor’s office have a negative significance.

Elusive Public Participation: Citizen Decision-Making in Budget Formulation Process in the City of Harare, Zimbabwe

Decentralisation envisages the public contributing to decision-making and governance in state institutions. The decentralised state is not complete without actors like ordinary people contributing to decision-making in local government institutions. Evidence of decentralisation in Africa reveals that there are very few cases of successful public participation in local government institutions. This paper focuses on the effectiveness of public participation in the decision-making process in decentralised local government institutions in Zimbabwe. It contributes to the broad literature on transitioning from traditional representation in democracies to citizen-centred and citizen-driven decision-making. The paper explores how the residents of the City of Harare (COH) contribute to decision-making through the city’s budget formulating process. The decision-making process is examined under the key elements of public participation which are inclusiveness, openness, accountability and responsiveness. This study is based on the interviews and observations made during the 2015 budget formulation process in the COH. The study findings reveal that public participation is not effective, and there are serious issues which need to be addressed to improve public participation in the COH. There is very little public participation to the extent that the residents do not have control of what happens in the COH except for voting for councillors. It is proper to argue that in the COH, there are no proper community participation platforms. This leads to a lack of accountability, openness, responsiveness and effectiveness of the system of public participation in the COH.

What Determines the Substantive Influence of Public Participation? An Investigation of Planners’ Views on Conditions for Participatory Practices in Denmark

Conditions that enable successful public participation have received increased attention in research and practice. This paper contributes with an empirical study of the conditions that determine the substantive influence of public participation processes. We explore a list of conditions in a Danish context through a survey of practitioners’ perceptions of practice and through interviews with practitioners. The findings support the growing criticism of the widespread notion that the choice of methods is a fundamental determinant of the success of public participation. The findings lead us to propose a more prominent role of contextual conditions in practice.

Public Participation in China: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Lessons Learned

Public participation is an integral part of the Chinese environmental impact assessment (EIA) system. Successful public participation though is more than just granting a right to participate and setting out a procedure in a legislative act. This paper analyses the strengths and weaknesses of the Chinese EIA system by reporting on the practical issues and lessons learned during regional workshops with EIA professionals in China. It offers an overview of principles, legal instruments, mechanisms and guidelines, and analyses the Chinese practices at the provincial and local level. Recommendations to improve public participation in China are based on a gap analysis, best practices and lessons learned, interviews with key stakeholders, inputs from public authorities, EIA agencies, and civil society organisations, collected in training modules and public events held in Yunnan, Shandong and Beijing.

Research Article: Three Tools for Evaluating Participation: Focus Groups, Q Method, and Surveys

To enable successful public participation in environmental decision making, practitioners need to know what works, but evaluation of proposed and existing processes is often lacking. We tested thre...

From Chaos to Harmony: Five steps for a successful public participation process

From Chaos to Harmony: Five steps for a successful public participation process

Systematic evaluation of public participation projects: Analytical framework and application based on two Belgian neighborhood watch projects

In this article, we present an analytical framework that lists the conditions for successful public participation in government affairs. In view of the increased importance of neighborhood watch projects/information networks, we apply the framework to this form of public participation. We analyze and compare two Belgian cases on the basis of document analysis, interviews with participants involved in the cases and a panel of experts. Our case study shows that the conditions that are described in the current article (participation and collaboration, resources, policy involvement, communication, context, method, and continuity) are relevant for analyses of this type and indicate important guidelines for government communication policies.

Malaysian Development Planning System: Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan and Public Participation

In Malaysia, public participation is not just an alternative for better planning, but is a requirement as stated in the planning law. Town and Country Planning Act 1976 (Act 172) and the amendments require public participation in the process of preparing development plans (structure plans and local plans) in Peninsular Malaysia (except Kuala Lumpur). In Kuala Lumpur, it is stated in the Federal Territory (Planning) Act 1982 (Act 267). Development plan as the name suggests guide the location of development with criteria based policies. Public has the right to know and participate in making decisions, particularly in those which potentially affect the communities in which they live and work. Research had been carried out to identify the effectiveness of the public participation programme for Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020. The research was carried out by collecting feedback from the participants of public exhibitions and workshops. Through the research, it was found that series of workshops are the effective method of public participation for development plan as compared to one public exhibition after draft proposal or plan has been completed. This is because an effective and successful public participation programme should allow members of the community to have an active voice in the process and to have free access to important information.

Aktualizacija učnih vsebin z vidika vrednot prostora in participacije javnosti v procesu prostorskega planiranja

Ker je izobraževanje ključni element za doseganje ciljev trajnostnega (prostorskega) razvoja in za aktivno participacijo v planerskem procesu, je potrebno te vsebine vključiti v formalni izobraževalni sistem. V članku so predstavljene z vrednotami prostora in prostorskim načrtovanjem povezane vsebine, s katerimi se je dopolnjevalo obstoječe učne načrte izbranih predmetov na primarni in sekundarni ravni izobraževanja ob njihovi zadnji reformi leta 2007.

EFFECTIVENESS OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROGRAMME: A FEEDBACK FROM PARTICIPANTS (SABAK BERNAM DISTRICT LOCAL PLAN AND KUALA LUMPUR STRUCTURE PLAN)

Nowadays, public awareness on the potential dangers of environmental problems and the negative impact from the development has been increasing. Public has the right to know and participate in making decisions, particularly in those have potentially affect on the communities in which they live and work. Furthermore, Malaysia is adopting the Rio Declaration - Sustainable Development and Agenda 21. One of the fundamental prerequisites for the achievement of sustainable development is broad public participation in decision-making. Research had been carried out to identify the effectiveness of the public participation programme for Sabak Bemam District Local Plan 2002-2015 and Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020. The research was carried out by collecting feedback from the participants of public exhibitions and workshops for both of the plans. Through the research, it was found that series of workshops are the effective method of public participation for development plan as compared to public exhibition after draft proposal of the plan has been completed. An effective and successful public participation programme should allow members of the community to have an active voice in the process and to have a free access to important information.

EFFECTIVENESS OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROGRAMME: A FEEDBACK FROM PARTICIPANTS (SABAK BERNAM DISTRICT LOCAL PLAN AND KUALA LUMPUR STRUCTURE PLAN)

Nowadays, public awareness on the potential dangers of environmental problems and the negative impact from the development has been increasing. Public has the right to know and participate in making decisions, particularly in those have potentially affect on the communities in which they live and work. Furthermore, Malaysia is adopting the Rio Declaration - Sustainable Development and Agenda 21. One of the fundamental prerequisites for the achievement of sustainable development is broad public participation in decision-making. Research had been carried out to identify the effectiveness of the public participation programme for Sabak Bemam District Local Plan 2002-2015 and Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020. The research was carried out by collecting feedback from the participants of public exhibitions and workshops for both of the plans. Through the research, it was found that series of workshops are the effective method of public participation for development plan as compared to public exhibition after draft proposal of the plan has been completed. An effective and successful public participation programme should allow members of the community to have an active voice in the process and to have a free access to important information.

Public participation in tackling health inequalities: implications from recent qualitative research

Recent qualitative research highlights important issues for successful public participation in action to reduce health inequalities. In the UK, the New Labour government has made a sustained commitment to tackling health inequalities and advocates the active engagement of local communities in this agenda.1 This offers a historically unprecedented opportunity, but there remains a paucity of research documenting effective interventions.2 Critically, if there is to be successful community participation in action tackling health inequalities we need to understand the subjective perceptions of lay community members regarding these issues. It is here that findings from recent qualitative research can provide important insights for developing best practice. A review of ethnographic, …

Post-normal science in practice: A Q study of the potential for sustainable forestry in Washington State, USA

Some ecological economists have advocated participatory decision methods, in which people act as citizens rather than consumers, as an epistemologically preferable alternative to a price-based valuation approach for determining the disposition of ecosystems. Q method is a research technique advocated by proponents of discursive democracy to assess the self described attitudes of participants in discourse around a particular topic. Techniques that attempt to discern public values around ecological systems without imposing contrived (e.g. only monetary) or unintentionally biased frameworks can be seen as advancing ecological economics as a post-normal science. Understanding the attitudes of groups involved in conflict over ecosystem use is crucial for designing policies that have a chance of being implemented, as well as being equitable and sustainable. Thus, the use of Q method is an essential step for supporting successful public participation in decisions affecting ecosystem sustainability. This paper reports the results of a Q study designed to ascertain: (1) the potential to find a common basis for cooperation among groups with a long history of conflict over forest management issues in the Pacific Northwest of the United States; and (2) the extent to which current science pertaining to sustainable forest ecosystem management is commonly understood among these same actors. Participants were asked to rank 64 statements about forest management in the region, including definitions of sustainable forestry, on a scale of + 4 (strongly agree) to − 4 (strongly disagree). Thirty people with a wide variety of backgrounds and experience with forest issues performed this “Q sort” and then were interviewed to provide context for their answers. The individual Q sorts were correlated and factor analyzed to derive ideal discourse types. Three distinct discourses about sustainable forestry emerged from the factor analysis. Results indicate a strong desire across stakeholder groups to engage in participatory decision-making with people from all sides of the issues. There also appears to be a lack of consensus about the exact meaning of sustainable forestry and a lack of familiarity with scientific concepts of ecosystem resilience among some groups. Recommendations for additional ways in which Q method can be applied by ecological economists as a practical means of advancing the field as a post-normal science are described in the concluding section.