Our battle with hexachlorobenzene: citizen perspectives on toxic waste in Botany

The perspectives of residents are brought together in this assembly of statements concerning the management of hexachlorobenzene waste in Botany, a southeastern suburb of Sydney. The paper indicates how residents have responded as participants in public participation exercises, and the contribution made by lay experts in the search for a negotiated solution to the problems of legacy wastes. Resident comments on the role of independent scientific experts, on legal liability, and on the State Government sponsored Commission of Inquiry, indicate the deficit of resources faced by the local community. The paper provides insights into the status of citizen knowledge in environmental controversies and the pitfalls of participatory processes.     

GIS, modeling, and politics: on the tensions of collaborative decision support

A tension exists at the heart of efforts to support collaboration with GIS. Many scholars and practitioners seek to support two separate objectives: (1) problem solving and (2) the exploration of diverse problem understandings. GIS applications designed for problem solving often pre-define the problem space by structuring the kind of information that can be considered or the way in which the problem is conceptualized. In doing so, they necessarily privilege particular perspectives and understandings of the problem while marginalizing others. As a result, these initiatives undermine their second objective. This is problematic in the context of contentious environmental decisions which have broad-reaching impacts on people with diverse perspectives and interests. In such contexts, I argue that equitable collaboration is impossible without first emphasizing the exploration of diverse problem understandings. I support this argument theoretically by turning to the literatures on collaborative planning and spatial decision support, and empirically in my analysis of a case study of an effort to construct a GIS for supporting collaborative water resource management in rural Idaho. Reflecting upon the case, I provide a set of recommendations to those seeking to better negotiate the tensions of supporting collaboration with GIS in the context of contentious environmental and natural resource decisions.     

Cross‐sectoral and participatory approaches to combating desertification: The Iranian experience

Anti‐desertification planning in Iran operates at the national level through the Five Year Development Plans, the National Plan to Combat Desertification — a long‐running scheme for which the Forest, Rangeland and Watershed Management Organisation (FRWO) is responsible — and the recently developed National Action Programme to Combat Desertification (the NAP). The Iranian NAP was formulated following the country's ratification of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and drew heavily on the experience, expertise and collaboration of personnel in FRWO. Development and implementation of the NAP has had major policy impacts in Iran in the two main areas of generating cross‐sectoral cooperation between government instruments at the national planning level and by community participation in local projects to combat desertification. Documenting the evolution of cross‐sectoral and participatory approaches to desertification in Iran shows that the NAP provided impetus towards a transformation of previous procedures, a policy impact that is continuing to generate change.     

‘A system that works for the sea’? Exploring Stakeholder Engagement in Marine Spatial Planning

This paper aims to contribute to the current debate on Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) by exploring the issue of stakeholder engagement. MSP is an emergent policy field that is subject to an increasing body of research, yet the role, scope and nature of participatory engagement within the process remains a neglected topic. This paper briefly reviews the nature of the ‘marine problem’, to which MSP is seen to be the response and describes the emergence of MSP policy in the UK with specific emphasis on participatory aspects. Drawing on the experience of terrestrial planning it discusses the potential benefits of stakeholder engagement in MSP and highlights some of the key issues that need to be taken into account when shaping stakeholder input into the process. It then goes on to describe the findings from a series of interviews with key stakeholders in the Irish Sea Region, which suggest that we need to develop a more critical and deeper understanding of how various interests frame the ‘marine problem’, and how they see their role in shaping the form of the MSP process. This highlights the importance of encouraging stakeholder involvement in MSP, the need to develop a shared vision of a ‘sea interest’. Priorities are then set for research to support this important policy agenda.     

Remotely engaged? Towards a framework for monitoring the success of stakeholder engagement in remote regions

The importance of stakeholder engagement for the success of natural resources management processes is widely acknowledged, yet evaluation frameworks employed by administrators of environmental programmes continue to provide limited recognition of or insistence upon engagement processes. This paper presents a framework for monitoring and evaluation of engagement that aims to better incorporate community engagement into mainstream environmental programmes, in particular in remote regions such as arid and desert regions of the world. It is argued that successful monitoring of engagement should not only comprise a generic set of indicators but rather, in addition to the principles of good monitoring practice, should take into account a variety of the stakeholder interests as well as key regional drivers, addressing them at right geographic, institutional and time scale.     

输变电建设项目环境影响评价的认识与实践

结合输变电环境影响评价工作实践,从输变电环评的法律、法规出发,阐述了输变电环评工作的重点内容,在此基础上论述了输变电建设项目环评中应执行的法律、法规、产业政策与清洁生产、规划相符性、环境功能区划、公众参与等“6＋2”原则,并结合实践进行了分析,提出了输变电建设项目环境影响评价中应注意的环境保护目标、公众参与等主要问题。     

高速公路建设-运营-移交(BOT)项目风险管理研究

从风险的普遍性和特殊性出发,分析高速公路建设-运营-移交(BOT)项目的风险特征;笔者认为,基于我国高速公路BOT实施现状分析,指出相关法律法规不完善、市场理念缺乏、风险意识淡薄、风险分担责任不明和缺乏相应的风险管理人才是目前我国高速公路BOT项目实施存在的主要问题;树立风险意识、完善市场体系、监理健全法律法规、合理分担风险、培养和引进专业风险管理人才是高速公路BOT项目风险管理的有效对策。     

创建机关ISO 14001环境管理体系探析

围绕天津市环境保护局创建机关ISO14001环境管理体系过程中的环境因素识别这一核心问题,进行了深入研究和探讨,并对体系的概况,特点和创建体系的意义等进行了概述和分析,为全国环保机关建立ISO14001环境管理体系提供了借鉴。     

Knowledge, data and interests: Challenges in participation of diverse stakeholders in HIA

Stakeholder participation is considered an integral part of HIA. However, the challenges that participation implies in a multi-disciplinary and multi-ethnic society are less studied. This paper presents the manifestations of the multiplicity of sectors and population groups in HIA and discusses the challenges that such diversity imposes. Specifically, there is no common ground between participants, as their positions entail contradictory knowledge regarding the current situation, reliance on distinct data and conflicting interests. This entails usage of multiple professional and ethnic languages, disagreements regarding the definition of health and prioritizing health issues in HIA, and divergent perceptions of risk. These differences between participants are embedded culturally, socially, individually and, maybe most importantly, professionally. This complex picture of diverse stakeholder attributes is grounded in a case study of stakeholder participation in HIA, regarding zoning of a hazardous industry site in Israel. The implication is that participatory HIAs should address the multiplicity of stakeholders and types of knowledge, data and interests in a more comprehensive way.     

排污许可证实施的监督管理探析

按照机制设计理论,提出了排污许可证实施监督管理的发展阶段,以及政府在不同阶段的关键作用。基于排污许可证行政许可的属性,归纳了不同层级政府监督管理的框架和内容,包括监督性监测、许可证执行监督和守法系统监控。从公众参与、政府和企业信息公开两个角度,总结了排污许可证实施的社会监督管理内容。