scholarly journals Why Should the Public Participate in Environmental Decision-Making? Theoretical Arguments for Public Participation

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriella Kiss
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Environmental Decision Making ◽  
Environmental Decision

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION MAKING: EXAMINING THE AARHUS CONVENTION

1999 ◽  
Vol 01 (02) ◽  
pp. 229-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
JUAN R. PALERM
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Conflict Management ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Communicative Action ◽  
Communication Process ◽  
The Public ◽  
Environmental Decision Making ◽  
Aarhus Convention ◽  
Management Procedures ◽  
Environmental Decision

After reviewing the development of public participation in environmental decision making, empirical/theoretical principles for public participation are proposed, based on Habermas's theory of communicative action. These principles are used to assess the Aarhus convention (AC), as well as the implications of the AC for the interpretation of EIA directive 85/337/EEC (amended by directive 97/11/EC) and the proposed directive on SEA.The results show that the AC falls short of the proposed principles in four fundamental aspects: (1) its need to ensure the participation of cognitively and lingually non-competent actors; (2) the need to have a two-way communication process; (3) the need to ensure normative and subjective claims are adequately recognised; and (4) the need to establish conflict management procedures. As well, the results show that the AC will set stricter standards for the interpretation of the public participation provisions in both the EIA directive and the proposed SEA directive.

scholarly journals Decision-Maker-Oriented VS. Collaboration: China’s Public Participation in Environmental Decision-Making

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Feng ◽  
Qimei Wu ◽  
Weijun Wu ◽  
Wenjie Liao
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Decision Maker ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
The Public ◽  
Empirical Survey ◽  
Environmental Decision Making ◽  
Narrow Scope ◽  
Collaboration Mode ◽  
Environmental Decision

Public participation in environmental decision-making (EDM) has been broadly discussed. However, few recent studies in English have focused on the participation subject, scope, ways, and procedure in the EDM of developing countries such as China in the worldwide governance transformation. This study aims to provide an overview of public participation in EDM in China, thus elucidating both the legislation and practice of public participation in EDM in China to a broader audience, as such an overview has not yet been provided. At the beginning of this article, we clarify the key definitions of EDM, public participation and the public, and establish an analytical framework for analyzing public participation in EDM in China. We analyze the scope of the public, the participation scope, ways of participating, and participation procedure in EDM in legislation and practice, through document analysis and empirical survey. We then comment on challenges for public participation in EDM in China—including low public participation in EDM, narrow scope of participation, unbalanced ways of participation, and unreasonable participation procedure. In conclusion, we draw wider implications for public participation in EDM in China, arguing for a transformation from a decision-maker-oriented mode to a collaboration mode.

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