Download or read book Public Participation in Environmental Assessment and Decision Making written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2008-11-07 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Federal agencies have taken steps to include the public in a wide range of environmental decisions. Although some form of public participation is often required by law, agencies usually have broad discretion about the extent of that involvement. Approaches vary widely, from holding public information-gathering meetings to forming advisory groups to actively including citizens in making and implementing decisions. Proponents of public participation argue that those who must live with the outcome of an environmental decision should have some influence on it. Critics maintain that public participation slows decision making and can lower its quality by including people unfamiliar with the science involved. This book concludes that, when done correctly, public participation improves the quality of federal agencies' decisions about the environment. Well-managed public involvement also increases the legitimacy of decisions in the eyes of those affected by them, which makes it more likely that the decisions will be implemented effectively. This book recommends that agencies recognize public participation as valuable to their objectives, not just as a formality required by the law. It details principles and approaches agencies can use to successfully involve the public.
Download or read book Communication and Public Participation in Environmental Decision Making written by Stephen P. Depoe and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2004-02-03 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Looks at the critical role of community members and other interested parties in environmental policy decision making.
Download or read book Public Participation and Better Environmental Decisions written by Frans H. J. M. Coenen and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-12-12 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Public Participation and Better Environmental Decisions is about a specific ‘promise’ that participation holds for environmental decision-making. Many of the arguments for public participation in (inter)national environmental policy documents are functional, that is to say they see public participation as a means to an end. Sound solutions to environmental problems require participation beyond experts and political elites. Neglecting information from the public leads to legitimacy questions and potential conflicts. There is a discourse in the literature and in policy practice as to whether decision-making improves in quality as additional relevant information by the public is considered. The promise that public participation holds has to be weighed against the limitations of public participation in terms of costs and interest conflicts. The question that Public Participation and Better Environmental Decisions seeks to answer for academics, planners and civil servants in all environmental relevant policy fields is: What restricts and what enables information to hold the ‘promise’ that public participation lead to better environmental decision-making and better outcomes?
Download or read book Democracy in Practice written by Thomas C. Beierle and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-09-30 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In spite of the expanding role of public participation in environmental decisionmaking, there has been little systematic examination of whether it has, to date, contributed toward better environmental management. Neither have there been extensive empirical studies to examine how participation processes can be made more effective. Democracy in Practice brings together, for the first time, the collected experience of 30 years of public involvement in environmental decisionmaking. Using data from 239 cases, the authors evaluate the success of public participation and the contextual and procedural factors that lead to it. Thomas Beierle and Jerry Cayford demonstrate that public participation has not only improved environmental policy, but it has also played an important educational role and has helped resolve the conflict and mistrust that often plague environmental issues. Among the authors' findings are that intensive 'problem-solving' processes are most effective for achieving a broad set of social goals, and participant motivation and agency responsiveness are key factors for success. Democracy in Practice will be useful for a broad range of interests. For researchers, it assembles the most comprehensive data set on the practice of public participation, and presents a systematic typology and evaluation framework. For policymakers, political leaders, and citizens, it provides concrete advice about what to expect from public participation, and how it can be made more effective. Democracy in Practice concludes with a systematic guide for use by government agencies in their efforts to design successful public participation efforts.
Download or read book Environmental Protection Law and Policy written by Jane Holder and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2007-07-19 with total page 820 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This 2007 book examines environmental law from a range of perspectives, emphasising the policy world from which environmental law is drawn and nourished. Those working within the discipline of environmental law need to engage with concepts and methods employed by disciplines other than law. The authors analyse the ways in which legal activities are supported and legitimated by work in traditional scientific or technical domains, as well as by certain more obscure but also influential cultural or philosophical assumptions. A range of regulatory techniques is explored in this book, through a close examination of both pollution control and land use. The highly complex nature of current environmental problems, demanding sophisticated and responsive legal controls, is illustrated by several in-depth case studies, including legal and policy analysis of the highly contested issues of genetically modified organisms and renewable energy projects.
Download or read book Law and Practice on Public Participation in Environmental Matters written by Uzuazo Etemire and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-07-20 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Public participation has become a recurring theme and a topical issue in the field of international environmental law, with many multilateral environmental instruments calling on states to guarantee effectively the concept in their laws and practices. This book focuses on public participation in environmental governance, in terms of public access to environmental information and public participation in environmental decision-making processes. Drawing on the body of international best practice principles in environmental law and taking a comparative stance, Uzuazo Etemire takes Nigeria as a key case, evaluating its procedural laws and practices in relation to public access to information and participation in decision-making in environmental matters. In working to clarify and deepen understanding of the current status of environmental public participation rights in Nigeria, the book addresses key issues in environmental governance for developing and transitional countries and the potential for public participation to improve the state of the environment and public wellbeing. This book will be of great interest to undergraduate students (as further reading) and post-graduate students, academics, researchers, relevant government agencies and departments, policy-makers and NGOs in the fields of international environmental law, environmental justice, environmental/natural resource management, development studies and international finance.
Download or read book Participation and the Quality of Environmental Decision Making written by F. Coenen and published by Springer. This book was released on 2012-10-15 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is clear that our society must become a more sustainable one. To that end, we must change both our production and our consumption patterns. Some argue that this implies the abolition of democratic processes, and thus of citizens' participation in environmental policy. Others argue the opposite: the only way to avoid impending environmental disaster is by engaging in common deliberation and contemplation. Is participation, then, a negative force or not? This volume is one of the first coordinated attempts to study the relationship between democratic, participatory forms of decision making and the quality of environmental decisions. The central question is how can the normatively desirable practice of participatory decision making be combined with an effective approach to environmental issues? Guided by a theoretical introduction by the editors, the 15 chapters deal with topics ranging from the scale of environmental problems, local agenda 21, infrastructural decisions, strategic planning, to environmental policy in developing countries. Three chapters are devoted to each of these broad themes. Each presents either a theoretical or an empirical argument about the central research question, shedding light on such issues as the measurement of decision quality, participation techniques, and the link between participation and decision quality, drawing on experience gained in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Africa. The introductions to the individual parts of the book have been collectively written by the contributors, who represent a range of professional disciplines, including political science, public policy and planning.
Download or read book Environmental Participation written by Catharina Landström and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-12-13 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book introduces environmental participation as a distinct field comprising diverse practices. It presents examples of public participation specifically in environmental science, decision making and expertise. The first chapter introduces the science studies perspective and the key concepts that underpin the argument for approaching such a range of practices as a coherent field. The following three chapters explore a wide range of practical examples of how the public can participate in all three domains. Drawing on her experience with a variety of transdisciplinary projects Landström discusses topics including the coproduction of knowledge about flooding, community involvement with radioactive waste disposal and collaborative water quality modelling. She then goes on to cover citizen science and social movement expertise as environmental participation practices. The concluding chapter reflects on the challenges as well as future opportunities of environmental participation. This book is aimed at readers from a variety of academic and non-academic backgrounds and will be a great interest to social and natural scientists, students and practitioners.
Download or read book The Public Participation Handbook written by James L. Creighton and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2005-03-11 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Internationally renowned facilitator and public participation consultant James L. Creighton offers a practical guide to designing and facilitating public participation of the public in environmental and public policy decision making. Written for government officials, public and community leaders, and professional facilitators, The Public Participation Handbook is a toolkit for designing a participation process, selecting techniques to encourage participation, facilitating successful public meetings, working with the media, and evaluating the program. The book is also filled with practical advice, checklists, worksheets, and illustrative examples.
Download or read book Breaking Boundaries written by Kathleen P. Hunt and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2019-12-01 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Breaking Boundaries analyzes efforts made by communities and policy makers around the world to push beyond conventional approaches to environmental decision making to enhance public acceptance, sustainability, and the impact of those decisions in local contexts. The current political climate has generated uncertainty among citizens, industry interests, scientists, and other stakeholders, but by applying concepts from various perspectives of environmental communication and deliberative democracy, this book offers a series of lessons learned for both public officials and concerned citizens. The contributors offer a broader understanding of how individuals and groups can get involved effectively in environmental decisions through traditional formats as well as alternative approaches ranging from leadership capacity building to social media activity to civic technology.
Download or read book Decision Making for the Environment written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2005-07-01 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the growing number, complexity, and importance of environmental problems come demands to include a full range of intellectual disciplines and scholarly traditions to help define and eventually manage such problems more effectively. Decision Making for the Environment: Social and Behavioral Science Research Priorities is the result of a 2-year effort by 12 social and behavioral scientists, scholars, and practitioners. The report sets research priorities for the social and behavioral sciences as they relate to several different kinds of environmental problems.
Download or read book Evaluating Public Participation in Policy Making written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2005-08-16 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the key issues for consideration when evaluating information, consultation and public participation.
Download or read book Participation and Power written by W. Michele Simmons and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2007-02-01 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Takes a firsthand look at a case of public participation in environmental policy.
Download or read book Riverine Ecosystem Management written by Stefan Schmutz and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-05-08 with total page 562 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book surveys the frontier of scientific river research and provides examples to guide management towards a sustainable future of riverine ecosystems. Principal structures and functions of the biogeosphere of rivers are explained; key threats are identified, and effective solutions for restoration and mitigation are provided. Rivers are among the most threatened ecosystems of the world. They increasingly suffer from pollution, water abstraction, river channelisation and damming. Fundamental knowledge of ecosystem structure and function is necessary to understand how human acitivities interfere with natural processes and which interventions are feasible to rectify this. Modern water legislation strives for sustainable water resource management and protection of important habitats and species. However, decision makers would benefit from more profound understanding of ecosystem degradation processes and of innovative methodologies and tools for efficient mitigation and restoration. The book provides best-practice examples of sustainable river management from on-site studies, European-wide analyses and case studies from other parts of the world. This book will be of interest to researchers in the field of aquatic ecology, river system functioning, conservation and restoration, to postgraduate students, to institutions involved in water management, and to water related industries.
Download or read book Public Participation in Sustainability Science written by Bernd Kasemir and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2003-04-10 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book discusses how citizens can participate more effectively in sustainability science and environmental policy debates. It discusses designs for participatory procedures, and experiences of their application to issues of global change. While the focus is on citizen participation, the involvement of specific stakeholders - including water managers and venture capitalists - is also addressed. The book describes how focus group methods were combined with the interactive use of computer models into new forms of participation, tested with six hundred citizens. The results are discussed in relation to other important topics, including greenhouse gas and water management. By combining this with an examination of issues of interactive governance and developing country participation, the book provides state-of-the-art, practical insights for students, researchers and policy makers alike.
Download or read book Making Treaties Work written by Geir Ulfstein and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2007-04-12 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is an increasing focus on the need for national implementation of treaties. International law has traditionally left enforcement to the individual parties, but more and more treaties contain arrangements to induce States to comply with their commitments. Experts in this 2007 book examine three forms of such mechanisms: dispute settlement procedures in the form of international courts, non-compliance procedures of an administrative character, and enforcement of obligation by coercive means. Three fields are examined, namely human rights, international environmental law, and arms control and disarmament. These areas are in the forefront of the development of international law and deal with multilateral, rather than purely bilateral issues. Each part of the book on human rights, international environmental law and arms control contain a general introduction and case studies of the relevant treaties in the field. Will appeal widely to both generalists and specialists in international law and relations.
Download or read book Fairness and Competence in Citizen Participation written by Ortwin Renn and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-12-01 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ortwin Renn Thomas Wehler Peter Wiedemann In late July of 1992 the small and remote mountain resort of Morschach in the Swiss Alps became a lively place of discussion, debate, and discourse. Over a three-day period twenty-two analysts and practitioners of public participation from the United States and Europe came together to address one of the most pressing issues in contemporary environmental politics: How can environmental policies be designed in a way that achieves both effective protection of nature and an adequate representation of public values? In other words, how can we make the environmental decision process competent and fair? All the invited scholars from academia, international research institutes, and governmental agencies agreed on one fundamental principle: For environmental policies to be effective and legitimate, we need to involve the people who are or will be affected by the outcomes of these policies. There is no technocratic solution to this problem. Without public involvement, environmental policies are doomed to fail. The workshop was preceded by a joint effort by the three editors to develop a framework for evaluating different models of public participation in the environmental policy arena. During a preliminary review of the literature we made four major observations. These came to serve as the primary motivation for this book. First, the last decade has witnessed only a fair amount of interest within the sociological or political science communities in issues of public participation.
