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policies whose implementation is likely to disrupt peoples
accustomed
waysofliving,and,throughthis,toidentifywaysinwhicheffectscould
be mitigated and measures made more palatable.
The process would provide an opportunity for participants to provide
information as to how the implementation of
'
'
'
strategies would
affect them and to discuss and debate how policies for reducing risk
should be put into practice. The involvement as witnesses of policy-
makers and representatives from the independent body of experts on
ecological protection (see
Section 3.4.2.2
), who would be able to explain
why particular measures are under consideration when giving testimony,
would be valuable for the conduct of this debate. Explanation of pro-
posed actions may assist with overcoming a sense of abstraction from
matters under consideration and enhance the understanding of partici-
pants so that they are better placed to participate meaningfully in the
process. In addition, participants may come to the process with preferences
that would con
ideal
ict with the changes in economic and social behaviour that
an ecological reorientation would require. Having an opportunity to ques-
tion politicians and experts about why action to reduce risks of harm is
necessary would enable them to re
ect on their initial views in light of the
ecological values that policy packages are designed to protect.
124
I recognise, as Flynn argues, that the reaction of participants to possi-
bilities that are discussed in a controlled forum will differ from how they
are viewed when presented to the public at large.
125
However, a focused
participatory process would be likely to reveal the dominant concerns that
proposed policies may give rise to and allow consideration of how these
might be addressed. In addition, the conduct of citizens
juries is not the
only opportunity that the public would have to participate in shaping the
transition to an ecologically desirable future. I argue in
Chapters 4
and
6
in
Chapters 4
and
6
that there should be substantial public involvement with
exploring possibilities for policy implementation. Participation at this level
would appear more meaningful for members of the public whose ways of
life and values held in places may be challenged directly by proposals for
'
124
Thepotentialforpeopletomodifyorclarifytheirvaluesthroughparticipationin
deliberative processes is examined in further detail in Chapter 6,
Section 6.2
.
125
B. Flynn,
'
Planning Cells and Citizen Juries in Environmental Policy: Deliberation and
its Limits
in F. Coenen (ed.) Public Participation and Better Environmental Decisions:
The Promise and Limits of Participatory Processes for the Quality of Environmentally
Related Decision-making (Dordrecht: Springer, 2009), pp. 60
'
-
1. See also S. Niemeyer,
'
The Emancipatory Effect of Deliberation: Empirical Lessons fromMini-publics
'
(2011)
39 Politics and Society, 127
-
8.
