Overview and Initiating the Environmental Impact Analysis and Assessment - Environmental Impact Analysis: Process and Methods - page 146

they could be affected by the proposed action. More aggressive and pro-
active tools are required to engage this group, such as seminars and other
educational events. Also seeking out parties potentially affected and actively
involving them in the process is a proven technique to engage the inactive
public and minimize surprises at the end of the process.
Closely related to the distinction between active and inactive publics are the
local and national interest groups. These two groups similarly require differ-
ent public outreach tools and techniques to solicit their input and realize the
benefits of cooperative public participation. Meetings generally reach the local
groups but more broad-based and creative techniques are necessary to engage
the national stakeholders, including web-based tools, articles in popular or even
peer-reviewed publications and in national advocacy group newsletters.
There is no one set of right tools to use for public outreach. Successful outreach
is a program with the tools adapted to the specific public(s) with vested interests
and those potentially affected by the proposed action or any of the alternatives.
The need to adapt the tools to the specific audience is illustrated by technology,
specifically electronic communication tools. There has been a major effort in
Chile to involve the public in environmental impact analysis through Internet-
based and other electronic tools. However, research reveals (Lostranau 2011) that
national communication techniques are only available to the public as follows:
r Telev i sion 8 0%
r Radio 80%
r Telephone 70%
r Internet 10%
r Newspapers 55%
Thus using the Internet as the primary public outreach tool would miss
the vast majority of the population. Lostranau (2011) also found that a public
program highly based on technology excluded the most affected and vulner-
able segments of the public.
There was a similar situation, experienced by the author, in neighboring
Peru involving construction of a natural gas pipeline. The pipeline was from
the headwaters of the Amazon River, over the Andes to Lima, where the gas
was to be processed and distributed, and the route (selected with little or no
public input) was through sensitive and vulnerable indigenous lands. The
pipeline development consortium received World Bank and other interna-
tional funding for the project, but the funding came with the obligation to
involve the indigenous populations and engage the Peruvian government to
implement the outreach programs to the affected stakeholders.
With the best of intentions, the government established several initiatives
to engage the public and mitigate the impacts. One of the more creative
and potentially beneficial programs was to fund the indigenous communi-
ties to establish plant nurseries along the pipeline route so there would be