Reconceptualizing public participation in environmental assessment as EA civics |
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| Institution: | 1. Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada;2. Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences, University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg R3B 2E9, Canada;1. Institute of Biological and Health Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Brazil;2. Instituto de Geografia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;3. School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK;4. Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (IPÊ), Nazaré Paulista, Brazil;1. Science, Society and Sustainability (3S) Research Group, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom;2. Department of Development and Planning, Aalborg University, A.C. Meyers Vænge 15, DK-2450 København SV, Denmark;3. School of Geo and Spatial Sciences, Internal Box 375, North West University (Potchefstroom campus), South Africa;1. JICA Research Institute, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Tokyo, Japan;2. Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan;1. School of Geo and Spatial Sciences, Department of Geography and Environmental Management, North-West University, C/O Hoffman & Borcherd Street, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa;2. Environmental Assessment, School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University, Australia.;1. Department of Development and Planning, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark;2. Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands;3. Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden;4. Forest and Nature Conservation Group, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands |
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| Abstract: | Notwithstanding the considerable attention placed on creating meaningful opportunities for public participation in environmental assessment (EA), many participants and those who have reviewed participation processes often find practice sorely wanting. This reality stands in stark juxtaposition to future environmental governance needs, which will require increased openness, deliberation and transdisciplinary knowledge in order to deal with environmental change that is ever more uncertain, complex and conflictual. In this paper, our purpose was to consider how to meet those needs through reconceptualizing public participation as EA civics, founded on an active citizen base, deliberative in nature and orientated toward learning. We do this through developing a new conceptual model of next generation participation processes that is relevant at multiple spatial scales and institutional levels, is applicable to the entire assessment cycle and spans temporal scales through feedback loops. Our EA civics model builds on the “civics approach” to environmental governance and “action civics” by extending their core ideas to participation in EA. We did this by conducting an integrative literature review (including numerous papers we have contributed over the years) and reflecting on our own experiences as EA participants. We apply current thinking on public participation design to our EA civics conceptualization and highlight important design features that have received scant attention. We conclude that EA civics holds promise for fairer and more robust participation processes if all aspects of the model are considered and the actions related to each are implemented. |
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