Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Types of public participation
Receives
information
Provides
information
Inputs to
decision-
making
Implementation
partnership
Project
owners
Passive
participation—
externally driven
Public
participation
increases
Active
participation—
community
owned
Fig. 7.5
A Participation Model.
h ere are diff erent types of public participation in IAS management:
1)
Passive participation:
the public's involvement is limited to a passive receiv-
ing of information. People involvement in this case consists of being told
what is going to happen or what has already happened. This one-way type
communication is a feature of externally-driven projects. These are typic-
ally government or NGO-led projects. Campaigns can take many forms
depending on location, budget, and purpose. Typically formats include:
public meetings; poster campaigns; media (TV/radio) campaigns; direct
mailing; targeted meetings, e.g. schools, tribal leaders, and other govern-
ance groups. Also, increasingly in developed countries, the Internet is being
used as an information channel to the public. In the extreme case of the
externally-driven management model the public is informed of government
decisions on policy or implementation plans late in the lifecycle of the pro-
ject with no ability to contribute. This mode of participation is increasingly
considered unsatisfactory because it does not allow for inclusion of the pub-
lic's views and aspirations in the planning of the project. Often this leads to
a lack of support from the public for planned activities.
Participation by giving information:
2)
the public participate by providing
information to project implementers. Often, implementers are not under
any obligation to act on the views received from the public. As with pas-
sive participation, if the public's views and aspirations are excluded—as is it
often the case—any proposed IAS management activities are likely to lack
public support. This can result in behaviours that will adversely impact the
outcomes of a project. For example, when visiting an island from which rats
have been eradicated, members of the public may not feel compelled to take
precautions to reduce the risk of re-introduction.
Joint decision making:
3)
the public constitutes a signifi cant pool of
expertise, skills, and perspectives on IAS issues and can effectively contrib-
ute to the decision-making process. This mode of participation is chan-
nelled through public consultative processes both informally and as part
of formal processes such as public hearing and submissions, e.g. HSNO
