A bridge over troubled water – public participation as a possibility for success in water management

Water Policy ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 1267-1285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders Carlander ◽  
Chris von Borgstede ◽  
Sverker Jagers ◽  
Eva-Lotta Sundblad
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Management Framework ◽  
The Public ◽  
Perceived Need ◽  
Latent Constructs ◽  
Personal Norms ◽  
Local Water ◽  
The Eu

Public participation in local water councils is one method to involve different actors in the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive. In this study we investigate which beliefs explain why the public participate and also how motives to participate are related to willingness to comply with decisions related to the water management framework. In total 910 respondents answered a web survey regarding their participation in the council work. Structural equation modelling was conducted with willingness to comply and motives to participate as the main dependent latent constructs. Other included latent constructs were perceived need for change, fairness, trust, and social and personal norms. The results show that motives to participate did not have an effect on willingness to comply. Perceived need for change had indirect effects on nearly all latent constructs in the model, and personal norms and social norms (through personal norms) had an effect on willingness to comply. The results are discussed in the context of water management methods.

scholarly journals Sustainable Water Management in Iraq (Kurdistan) as a Challenge for Governmental Responsibility

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmood Yousuf ◽  
Nada Rapantova ◽  
Jalal Younis
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Environmental Legislation ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
State Of Water ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
Local Water ◽  
The Eu

During the last few decades, a critical scarcity of water has occurred in the Middle East due to climate change and the mismanagement of water resources. The situation is complicated by the absence of an effective legislative framework at the local level as well as by the incapability and disrepute of the local water authorities. Most Iraqi citizens depend on the surface waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which have their sources in upstream neighbouring countries. Water crises concerning the shared waters urgently require a solution at the international level. Unfortunately, Iraq has faced several wars in a row (1980–2003), which has prevented the country from establishing its institutions. The rapid increase in the population of the transboundary countries on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and the high demands on agriculture, are accelerating water exploitation. In this paper, the present state of water management in Iraq from the viewpoint of the legislative framework, water balance, and transboundary issues will be discussed, with special attention to Kurdistan. Many legislative documents have been established or amended by the Iraqi and Kurdistan parliaments since 2003. In 2015, the Kurdistan Government Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, in cooperation with the EU, issued a guide for environmental legislation related to all environmental components such as air, water, and soil. The recommendations on actions needed in the water management in Kurdistan will be presented; they are inspired by the Water Framework Directive (WFD) (2000/60/EC) implemented in EU member states.

scholarly journals Do Personal Norms Predict Citizens’ Acceptance of Green Transport Policies in China

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 5090
Author(s):  
Leibao Zhang ◽  
Liming Sheng ◽  
Wenyu Zhang ◽  
Shuai Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Congestion ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Environmental Behaviors ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Car Use ◽  
Metropolitan City ◽  
Personal Norms

In order to solve the environmental problems caused by the increasing private car use in China, such as transport energy consumption, traffic congestion, and air pollution, many policy measures including car purchase taxes, restrictions on car use in the city center, and incentives to promote electric vehicles have been developed. By taking Hangzhou, a low-carbon metropolitan city in China, as an illustrative example, green transport policies have been proactively implemented in order to turn the metropolitan city into an ecologically livable city. However, citizens’ acceptance of comprehensive green transport policies has seldom been studied and explored, which is actually quite valuable information for implementing and assessing the effectiveness of green transport policies. This study presents a new integrated framework by extending the value belief norm (VBN) theory in order to explore the internal factors for predicting citizens’ acceptance of comprehensive green transport policies and other pro-environmental behaviors in the transport field. A survey on car use reduction was conducted among citizens in Hangzhou and a quantitative analysis was performed using a structural equation model (SEM) method. Results show that personal norms can successfully predict citizens’ acceptance of pull policies for reducing car use, while is less capable of predicting that of push ones. The theoretical implications of different pro-environmental behaviors are explained. This analysis may inspire policy makers to implement appropriate policies to encourage the public to use low-carbon transport in daily life.

scholarly journals Readiness and willingness of the public to participate in integrated water management: some insights from the Levant

Water Policy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (S2) ◽  
pp. 101-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Ange Ker Rault ◽  
Heleen Vreugdenhil ◽  
Paul Jeffrey ◽  
Jill Hillary Slinger
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
Integrated Water Management ◽  
Major Barrier ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
Household Level ◽  
The Public ◽  
Active Involvement ◽  
Personal Understanding

Although public participation has received much attention in the context of integrated water resources management, little is known about the readiness and willingness of the wider public to participate. The top-down perception that the public is poorly organised, has limited knowledge and is not interested in participation is a major barrier for the implementation of participation. We illustrate, through four medium-scale surveys in the Levant, that the potential for public participation is present, even in countries with limited exercise of democracy. The study demonstrates that the public is willing to participate and knowledgeable about water management challenges at both the institutional and household level. These conditions for participation are particularly present in countries where water stress is high. The preferred style of participation is active involvement, in order to have a channel to communicate, express opinions and exchange personal understanding of the situation in which one lives.

Perspectives for European Water Management Law Report of a conference in Brussels, 3 and 4 April 2008

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 341-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Bach
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Individual Member ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
The Public ◽  
European Water ◽  
Controversial Topic ◽  
Polluter Pays Principle ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Eu

AbstractOn 3rd and 4th April 2008 a conference containing the “Perspectives of European Water Management Law” took place in Brussels with participation of about 80 representatives of the European Commission and universities, authorities, enterprises and associations of the individual Member States of the European Community. The focus of the conference was on the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC and its implementation into national law, whereby the “polluter pays principle” arouse special interest. Another important and controversial topic was whether privatisation of the water sector would be advantageous or disadvantageous in regard to efficient allocation and sustainable environmental protection. Beyond the conference dealt with the public procurement in the water sector in relation to the directive 2004/17/EC, with the reorganisation of European protection against floods in the course of the EU flood directive 2007/60/EC and the effects of climate change on hydrologic balance.

The perception of the public participation approach applied to water management in Jordan

Water Policy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 1078-1093 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faten O. Al-Najar ◽  
Ken Ushijima ◽  
Naoyuki Funamizu
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Distinct Difference ◽  
Grounded Theory Methodology ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Public ◽  
Management Context ◽  
Governmental Institutions

This paper aims to explore the perception of applying public participation practices in Jordan in the water management context. It uses grounded theory methodology to understand how the concept of public participation is perceived by different stakeholders and how it is affecting the currently applied participation practices. The data used in this study were collected through face-to-face interviews with key water experts and specialists working in the water sector in Jordan, including experts working for governmental and non-governmental institutions. The findings of this study showed that there is a distinct difference in the perception of public participation between two groups; the ‘officials’ and ‘non-officials’, which in turn has influenced other aspects of participation, mainly the objectives and preferred type of participation, justification for implementing the participation and the characterization of currently applied participation practices.

scholarly journals Pengaruh Partisipasi dan Diskresi terhadap Kualitas Pelayanan Publik pada Dinas Penanaman Modal dan Pelayanan Perizinan Terpadu Satu Pintu Kabupaten Bandung Barat (Studi Pelayanan Izin Lokasi dan Izin Mendirikan Bangunan)

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
Bambang Subagio
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Least Square ◽  
The Public

The public service quality in The Investment and One Stop Service (TIOSS) Office of Bandung Barat Regency was not optimal. The public participation and discretion were the crucial factors to improve the quality of the public service. Hence, this research examined the influence of the public participation and discretion factors to improve the public service quality in TIOSS Office of Bandung Barat Regency. This research used the mixed method. Quantitative method was reflected through survei technique data collection which then was analyzed through Structural Equation Model and Partial Least Square. While qualitative method was reflected through Focus Group Discussion technique. The results were, first, public participation and the discretion had a positive and significant impact to the public service quality. Second, the public participation variable partially had a greater effect than the discretion variable to improve the quality of the public service. The research suggested that TIOSS Office of Bandung Barat Regency should undertake synergic, comprehensive, and continuous of public participation and discretion practices in order to improve public service quality.

Enforcing Non-Discrimination in Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment: Advantages for EU Citizens from the Transposition of the Espoo and Aarhus Conventions?

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 437-460
Author(s):  
Simon Marsden
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessment ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
The Public ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThis article examines the relationship between international and European law with respect to transboundary environmental impact assessment (TEIA), which under the UNECE Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo) applies requirements for EIA to the relationship between states known as 'Parties of origin' and 'affected Parties'. Information is shared and participation in the Party of origin procedure by the public in affected as well as origin states is required (non-discrimination); these provisions are enhanced under the related Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus), which also contains provisions enabling enforcement. The purpose is to analyse whether EU citizens have greater opportunities to enforce these rights than citizens of state Parties to the two treaties that are not members of the EU. Procedure and practice under the transposing directives on EIA and public participation is examined, and conclusions are drawn that although to a large extent EU membership is advantageous to EU citizens involved with TEIA, certain constraints concerning public participation and access to justice remain.

The role of norms in predicting waste sorting behavior

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Budi Setiawan ◽  
Adi Zakaria Afiff ◽  
Ignatius Heruwasto
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Subjective Norms ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Environmental Behaviors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Personal Norms ◽  
Activation Theory ◽  
Social Marketing Campaigns

Purpose This study aims to examine the role of personal and subjective norms in predicting waste sorting, an increasingly relevant pro-environmental behavior. Design/methodology/approach This study obtained data from a sample of 300 respondents from three Indonesian cities. Purposive sampling was employed to obtain information from specific segments of Indonesian population. The analysis consisted of a two-stage procedure including confirmatory factor analysis and covariance-based structural equation modeling. Findings Results demonstrated that both subjective and personal norms significantly and directly predict waste sorting behavior (WSB) bypassing intention to behave. Research limitations/implications The fact that norms held by individuals are able to single-handedly drive pro-environmental behaviors implies that previous studies and social marketing campaigns may have overstated the role of intention. Practical implications In designing marketing communication programs promoting WSB, this paper argues that targeting normative tendencies of the audience may provide a more effective strategy than focusing on explicit pro-environmental intentions and attitudes of the public. Originality/value This study provided a new experimental test and confirmation of the role of subjective norms, the normative component of the theory of planned behavior and of personal norms, the normative component of the norm activation theory, in predicting WSB.

Listen to the People: Friends of the Earth challenge ‘Brexit’ public participation

elni Review ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 60-65
Author(s):  
William Rundle
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The People ◽  
Aarhus Convention ◽  
Legal Frameworks ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Democratic Country ◽  
The Eu

With the chaotic and uncertain events around the withdrawal agreement negotiations between the EU and the UK, the question of ‘how’ Brexit is to occur is very important. This article relates to that question. It addresses it by describing Friends of the Earth’s legal challenge, in the form of a Communication to the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee, alleging breaches under Articles 8 and 3 of the Aarhus Convention. Fundamentally, it’s about the UK government’s apparent failure to properly engage the public on the transparency for sustainable development environmental governance (and governance in general), by having clear legal frameworks that provide for effective and consistent participation. Yet in the UK, a mature and established democratic country, the public finds itself in the peculiar situation of not having clear or enforceable rights to effective public participation in the environmental field, during the preparation of new laws. That is specifically, when new laws are being prepared by the executive that can significantly impact on the environment. There is a voluntary ministerial code legislative centrepiece for Brexit with regards to how exit from the EU should occur and what that could mean for the environment.

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