It seems that the issue of public involvement on environmental issues should hinge on the feasibility of providing adequate information to the public from the outset of the project. Slotterback (2008) suggests that the public should be educated about the environmental issues related to a project even before the scoping process begins. If the public is made aware of the issue via websites, postcards and other media, they will be more likely to have a substantive effect on the process. If this education can be carried out in a fiscally responsible manner, it should be included in scoping. However, if the environmental issues at hand are too detailed or could give the public the ability to do harm, then minimal information should be provided, and the lessened results of public participation should also be noted in the final report. One of the potential problems with minimizing public involvement is that other stakeholders may not be identified. In short, it seems to be better to involve the public at some level than not at all. The question of finding the right extent of public involvement depends on the issue at stake, the public management in charge of the issue, and the resources that are available to educate and interact with the public.
Monday, February 16, 2009
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I agree with your comments Joanna. Information that may pose a threat to the general public, i.e. terrorist threats, should be kept confidential. As long as there aren't grave effects to the general public, it is not necessary to announce where top secret nuclear waste dumps are, for example.
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be no easy answer to the question of involving the public in the decision making process of environmental planning while knowing they have only limited knowledge of the science of environmental issues. We all can agree that it is a public manager's civic duty to have transparency in government and to promote civic engagement. But what do you do when that directly conflicts with the civic duty of promoting the common interest of the public, even if they cannot understand it? Tricky, tricky.
ReplyDeleteI can understand your poing Joanna, and am in agreement. I believe that the public should be provided with informaiton in order for them to be a part of the decision making process, but also believe that the full picture should be considered when providing information. This is a good argument on disclosure for the public
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