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How participation in environmental decision-making contributes to measurable change

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Hartley, T. W. (2006) Finding 1

To increase US public acceptance of water reuse, such as high awareness of treatment technology, trust in local government; and of the challenges and opportunities of water reuse in the US:

  • Manage diverse types of information in order to serve the interests of all stakeholders, and ensure equal access of information, in order to promote learning and communication, and to build mutual understanding among all stakeholders.
  • Nurture multiple motives for the public to engage, demonstrate genuine commitment to hear the public’s voice.
  • Promote communication and public dialog in multiple forms and venues in all stages of decision making.
  • Ensure decisions made are fair, sound, and reasonable.
  • Build and maintain trust among decision makers and the general public.

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Giordano, R., Passarella, G., Uricchio, V. F., & Vurro, M. (2007) Finding 2

To address the complexity of water resource management problems, engage stakeholders in structuring, i.e. systematizing the knowledge which emerges during the participative process, in order to make it comprehensible for the other participants and functional for the decision process. Cognitive mapping (concepts linked to form chains of action-oriented argumentation) and analysis is an example of a system that can be used to produce different points of view and information, in order to enrich a collective ‘‘knowledge base’’ with creative ideas and concepts around the problem. Continue reading →

Ghanbarpour, M. R., Hipel, K. W., & Abbaspour, K. C. (2005) Finding 2

In the long-term watershed planning process, assess and analyse different stakeholders’ preferences in order to prioritize various strategies and alternatives. For example, use an analytical hierarchy process (AHP) or a social choice function (SCF) process. The analytical hierarchy process is best used with expert groups and includes (1) the structuring of a problem into a hierarchy consisting of a goal and subordinate features, (2) pairwise comparisons between elements at each level, and (3) propagation of level-specific, local priorities to global priorities. The intensity of preference between any two elements is assessed by integers ranging from 1 to 9 (Saaty, 1980, 1990).  The social choice function is based on pairwise comparisons on the number of voters between pairs of strategies. It assumes that all assertions of preference between two strategies carry equal weight. Continue reading →

Bidwell, R. D., & Ryan, C. M. (2006) Finding 3

Explicitly recognize the implications of organizational affiliation when designingpolicies that foster collaboration in watersheds. Organizational culture and preexisting constituent relationships may dictate definitions of the problem and the range of preferred alternatives in agency-affiliated partnerships. Continue reading →

Ballard, D. (2005) Finding 1

A model of the change process required for sustainability, involves 3 conditions: (1) Awareness of the agenda, scale, urgency and structure of the issues, (2) Identifying effective roles for individuals or groups, where meaningful activities can be undertaken in parallel to raising awareness, (3) Association or cooperation with others to mobilize towards empowerment. Continue reading →