Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
conserved, or sustainable socioeconomic development achieved, without the effec-
tive participation of the local population in management and decision making.
Public engagement and active participation are even more important in ecologi-
cally and environmentally degraded areas in which attempts at restoration or regener-
ation are under way. Without the active involvement of the local population, it might
be possible to achieve a superficial level of restoration, for example, by conducting a
cleanup of contamination, mitigating visible physical impacts, or reintroducing native
plant and wildlife species, but a complete and comprehensive regeneration of the
ecosystem as a whole will never be achieved. Even if scientists, technicians, and politi-
cians were to accept the need for social participation, this participation does not occur
automatically without the existence of political resolve to foster it. Participation is not
an instinctive action for most members of “modern” societies. Quite the opposite, in
fact; nearly all aspects of modern society conspire to promote passive and individualis-
tic attitudes contrary to fostering participation. Participation is a learned form of col-
lective behavior; like everything in human nature, it is a cultural phenomenon.
Therefore, if political resolve really exists, the first task is to spread and reinforce the
learning of participatory forms, habits, values, and practices; in short, to contribute to
the development of a participatory culture.
Yet politicians, technicians, and scientists, in spite of their possible isolation from
citizens, are a part of society itself and are affected by the same factors that discourage
participation. As a general rule these agents do not tend to be overly eager to initiate a
participatory process. The result is a feedback loop: the more alienated the population
feels in relation to the environment in which it lives, the greater the development of
selfish and individualistic attitudes that put private interests and personal benefit be-
fore the conservation or restoration of the environment. A participatory cultural ex-
change cannot be fostered and achieved with words and goodwill alone; resources are
required, at least in an equivalent measure to those used for the repopulation of spe-
cies, decontamination, research, and monitoring. Assuming that all the political and
material requirements are met, a key factor for ensuring real and effective participa-
tion is the existence of a collective identification of people with a particular place (Os-
pina 2001a, 2001b, 2003).
Collective Identification
Identification turns space into territory, understood as a culturized geographical space
and, therefore, acts as one of the most important reference points in the common
recognition of members of a collective as the constituents of a “community.” The
greater the degree and depth of identification of the population with its territory, and
the greater this identification is shared among its members, the more effective their
participation will be. Conversely, the disjointedness and detachment of a group of in-
dividuals as a collective and their disconnection from the geographical setting in which
they live, with which they do not identify collectively, is a factor that renders ineffective
any attempts at participation. This is particularly important when it comes to restoring
socioecosystems affected by disasters of natural origin or of our own human actions.
