What is public participation and what does it add? Pragmatic reasons for public participation. Examples of public participation to achieve environmental goals.Summary thoughts about public participation.Future directions in the Danube

1. Information Access and NGO
Participation: North America
and Europe
Ruth Greenspan Bell, Resources for the Future
Jane Bloom Stewart, New York University

2. Overview of Presentation
• What is public participation and what does it add?
• Pragmatic reasons for public participation
• Examples of public participation to achieve
environmental goals
• Summary thoughts about public participation
• Future directions in the Danube

3. What is Public Participation?
• Explicit processes to involve people, NGOs and the private
sector in decisionmaking and achieving environmental
results
• Can include
– Commenting on draft legislation/proposed regulations
– Lobbying
– Litigation & citizen enforcement
– Commenting on proposed discharge permits
– Implementation activities

4. Public Participation can:
• Improve the quality of environmental
decisionmaking
• Help build a dynamic for improved
implementation

5. Four Reasons To Involve the
Public
• Builds an Environmental Constituency
• Informs Decisionmaking
• Participatory Democracy - Obtains Consent of the
Governed to Environmental Requirements
• Builds Public Trust & Fair Process for
Environmental Results

6. Involving More People in Finding
Solutions
• Numerous Pollution Sources
• Geographically Dispersed Facilities

7. Increasing the Information
Available to Decision-makers
• Available Technologies
• Experience Applying Technologies
• Impacts of Pollution
• Public Acceptability of Risk

8. Consent of the Governed: How
is Public Opinion Expressed?
• Voting/Influencing Other Voters
• Lobbying Elected Bodies/Providing
Information and Data
• Opportunities to Comment on Proposed
Government Policies (e.g. draft regulations)
• Advisory Committees

9. Obtaining Consent of the
Governed
• Environmental Protection as an interactive
process between government and the public
• Keys to legitimacy and public acceptance
– solicit/consider views of all affected parties
– transparent decisionmaking process
– articulate reasons for decisions

10. Increasing Public Trust
• Do People Believe Government Decisions
are Worth Obeying?
• Importance of Fair Process in Establishing
Legitimacy
• Honest, Neutral, Unbiased Decision-makers
• Transparent Decision Processes

11. Example #1: Environmental Impact
Assessment
• Congress Passed a Law
• Public Pressure/Litigation Aided Implementation
• As a result, EIA Provides Information to the
Public
• Information Feeds Back into the Decision Process

12. Lessons Learned?
• Success of EIA in U.S. demonstrates two
roles for the public
– Holding government’s “feet to the fire”
– Using EIA-generated information to express
opinions, influence decisionmakers
• Transparent Public Process Builds Trust in
Government Decisionmaking

13. Example #2: Toxic Release
Reporting
• Law requires reporting of toxic releases by
industrial dischargers to all environmental media
• Public access to TRI (PRTR) enables public to
identify polluters/enforce/exert pressure to reduce
toxic releases
• Media dissemination of TRI data encourages
voluntary reductions/enforcement

14. Lessons for the Danube
• Results require multiple actors -- government,
private sector and NGOs
• Information is powerful
– foundation of participation
• Participation builds
– regulatory success
– legitimacy
• Informed participation can help reduce pollution

15. Future Directions: Building Institutions for
Public Participation in the Danube
• CEE-wide commitments to Aarhus Convention
• Objective: Implementation
• 18-month GEF-funded pilot project
• Hungarian and Slovenian government officials, NGOs,
other stakeholders
• Builds constituencies for GEF’s transboundary Danube
restoration programs
• Model for progress throughout Danube basin