Public participation in decision making is an essential part of the environmental impact assessment eia process, which has become a widely applicable tool for environmental decision making in the world since 7075ies, ensuring consideration of environmental concerns within the planning. Yet a closer look at the literature unveils that, beyond this general assertion, opinions of the precise meaning, objectives and adequate representation of public participation in eia considerably diverge. The role of public participation in environmental impact. Introduction to public participation in strategic environmental assessment. Limited exceptions for confidential business information on the project processes and sensitive. The action plan helps the 25member working group, supported by the usaid mekong partnership for the environment mpe. Diagram illustrating an analysis of players in terms of scope, influence and. The public means one or more natural or legal persons and in accordance with national legislation or practice, their associations, organizations or groups aarhus, 1998. Commercial buildings energy consumption survey cbecs. Active public participation can protect business interests, by reducing public conflict and safeguarding against future risks. Gender and public participation in environmental impact. Iii handbook for public participation in environmental. Public participation in environmental impact assessment.
View and download powerpoint presentations on public participation in eia ppt. This enables each group to appreciate the other groups actions and views in a public participation process. Environmental impact assessment eia reports, a water use licence application wula, as well as undertaking a public participation process ppp, to obtain an ea for the proposed mashishing township establishment. Laws and regulations in many countries regularly require public meetings and comment on government actions. This term includes public consultation or dialogue and public participation, which is a more interactive and intensive process of stakeholder engagement. The level of public participation will depend on the activitydevelopment. Participation in the environmental impact assessment. It is a process that allows for public involvement when positive and negative impacts opportunities and constraints that are associated with a proposed course of action are assessed. Public participation and environmental impact assessment with case studies from.
Environmental impact assessment, history and definition. Participants included local and national government officials, ngos, and representatives from academia, as well as international public participation and eia experts from thailand, the philippines, and malaysia. Public participation and stakeholder engagement in. Political participationunited stateshandbooks, manuals, etc. Mar 15, 2016 the group endorsed an action plan to improve public participation in eia. However, there are no consistent rules for public participation among current eia systems. Public participation in eia is commonly deemed to foster democratic policymaking and to render eia more effective. It is also intended to help departments understand the public policy context within. Even a cursory glance at recent writing on eia and related decision making processes shows that the issue of public participation in eia is a major focus for scholars and practitioners chavez and bernal, 2008, cooper and elliott, 2000, del furia and wallacejones, 2000 devlin and yap, 2008. An analysis of the factors affecting public participation. For example, the classification of documents as confidential can prevent public dissemination and in the absence of transparency openness, it is difficult for effective public participation to be achieved. Guidance on public participation in environmental impact. Pdf comparative analysis of public participation in the.
Environmental impact assessment and public participation in. Public participation is necessary for minimizing or avoiding public controversy, confrontation and delay, and can make a positive contribution to the eia process. The public use files do not contain building names, addresses, or any information that might identify an individual building. If eia laws permit, either party may opt to hire a consultant to prepare the eia or handle specific portions of the eia process, such as public participation or technical studies. This chapter describes when an environmental impact assessment eia may be required for an activity, what is involved in the eia process, and the. Some require even more extensive forms of public engagement and input. Cheryl wasserman, us epa role of public participation in environmental impact assessment three main ingredients to eia. General experiences of public participation in eia have shown that where developers do actively engage the public, even for large scale and controversial developments, there can be substantial benefits see example of the wastewater sea outfall, antalya, turkey at this page. Detailed information on masking procedures can be found in the users guide to the 2012 cbecs public use microdata file. Members of the public have 30 working days after notification of. Good practice recommendations on public participation in. Glucker and others published public participation in environmental impact assessment.
Documents from strengthening public participation on. Governance, transparency and public participation in. Introduction to the public participation toolkit there is a great deal of public participation being implemented throughout the world today. Federal agencies have taken steps to include the public in a wide range of environmental decisions. Environmental organizations should play a greater role in public participation in eia public participation in eia processes is guaranteed by chinese law and essential for successful projects. The handbook is unique in that it provides a perspective of public participation from the point of view of each of the four groups. Pdf public participation in environmental impact assessment for. Public participation may consist of informational meetings, public hearings, and opportunities to provide written comments about a proposed project. Evaluation of the effectiveness of environmental impact. Yet a closer look at the literature unveils that, beyond this general assertion, opinions of the precise meaning, objectives and adequate representation of public participation. Some eia laws recognize the inherent conflict of interest produced when a mining company or other project proponent hires a consultant to prepare an eia. The role of public participation in environmental impact assessment in ethiopia gidey, desta gebremichael document version.
The handbook includes an overview of environmental assessment and public participation. This research sought to analyze the differences in eia practices in terms of. While thai overseas investment projects toips have become a key form of development in the region, their environmental impact assessment eia quality has been criticized. Public participation framework for the south african. Principle in public participation development persongroup of persons who is qualified eligible to conduct to eia key principle of public participation techniques in providing information for public part3 current environmental impact assessment processes environmental impact assessment procedure for common projects or normal eia. Apr 01, 2016 the second day of the workshop focused on public participation in the context of environmental impact assessments. Iii handbook for public participation in environmental impact. Public protests have sometimes resulted in stock price depressions and market losses. In order to comply with national legislation, the proposed project will require authorisation in. Public participation process in relation to the assessment of the environmental impact of any application for an environmental authorisation, is defined in terms of national environmental management act, 1998 act 107 of 1998. The contents presented in this document do not necessarily reflect the views of usaid or the united states government. Much has been written about the concept of sustainable development in different discipliners like law. A dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of international masters degree in environmental policy and the global challenge, spring 2003. Public participation a bestfit definition for the south african legislative sector.
Environmental impact assessment eia is a tool to aid environmental decision making. Public participation notice environmental impact assessment process eia for an exemption application. In producing reasons for more public participation in the eia process. Flow chart illustrating a plan approval procedure with eia 63 fig. Diduck and mitchell, 2003, doelle and sinclair, 2006, hartley and wood, 2005, kapoor. Evaluation of the effectiveness of environmental impact assessment in promoting sustainable development in the energy sector of south africa shonisani felix madlome a research report submitted to the faculty of science, university of the. This article explores the nature of public participation in the environmental impact assessment eia process in the context of the potential integration of the aarhus convention principles into. But this proves that there is power in numbers regardless of whether new yorks inclusion of public participation in their eia system is sufficient or not. A guide to the environmental impact assessment eia process. Reports may be copied freely and cited with due acknowledgment. Although public participation is not easy to define, the aarhus convention emphasizes that there is no set formula for public participation, but at a minimum it requires effective notice, adequate information, proper procedures, and appropriate taking into account of the outcome of public participation18.
Application of public participation principles in environmental. Finally conclusions are put forward and recommendations. Public participation and environmental impact assessment. Public participation in environmental impact assessment of. The general objectives of involving the public at different stages in the eia process were considered by a recent european commission research project ec, 1999 as given in the table. Eia should, through public participation pp processes, allow citizens to take part in decision making when implementing hps. The eia process should take into account the interests of all stakeholders, including the public, said mr. Guideline for the public participation in the eia process produced by the then department of environment and cultural affairs and sport, western cape 2001. Although some form of public participation is often required by law, agencies usually have broad discretion about the extent of that involvement. Eight of the results 15% were ranked medium level of public participation, while majority of the reports 29 representing 54% were ranked low in their contents for public participation.
As a direct consequence of the political pressure on public officials to choose and approve a particular project, deficiencies in the environmental impact assessment can be observed. Public participation environmental assessment page 4. Tilburg university the role of public participation in. Public participation and eia the southern african development communitys sadcs sustainable development strategy 1996 identifies eia as a key planning tool for sustainable. The department will use the same as a starting point for promoting and institutionalizing the application of public participation in policy formulation, implementation and service delivery improvement. The aim of this is to determine the best practicable course of action.
Draft guideline on public participation in myanmars eia processes ii this draft guideline is made possible by the generous support of the american people through the united states agency for international development usaid. Initial environmental impact assessment about 50,000 annually environmental impact assessment about 5600 annually eas 7 categorical exclusionscategorical exclusions nepa affects private parties only when there is a federal handle on a ppp p groposed private action e. Nearly all eia systems make provision for some type of public involvement. The eia process for major prqjects lacks adequate provision for informing the public. Application of public participation principles in eia strengthening public participation in environmental management in indonesia training workshop julytraining workshop, july 1011, 2012 jakarta, indonesia ms. Public pimproving public participation and consultation in.
Most eia processes are undertaken through consultation rather than participation. Public participation in the environmental assessment process resulted. Public participation in malawis environmental impact assessment eia process. Public participation in eia and attitude formation request pdf.
In the years since these legal documents took effect, encouraging progress. In my view the two main problems are that we have so far seen far more quantity than quality when it comes to government run public participation processes and that there has been a lot of confusion regarding what citizen empowerment actually means. Permits, licenses, grants, loans, use of federal land or resources. Find powerpoint presentations and slides using the power of, find free presentations research about public participation in eia ppt. University of groningen public participation in environmental.
Manual for public involvement in the environmental impact assessment eia process of hydropower projects. Public participation and stakeholder engagement in decision. Following this, a section will present possible entry points for gender integration in the eia process. Request pdf public participation in eia and attitude formation although public participation in eias aims for public acceptance, it does not guarantee the project of which the eia is part is. African journal of environmental science and technology, 7 10, 307 311 10. Effective public participation requires that project planners aschemann, 2004. Director in determining whether an eia is required. The proponent is also required to make a copy of the eia available for public consultations. This section briefly describes these, from the general principles for public participation. The person conducting a public participation process usually the environmental assessment practitioner must. Deficiencies in strategic environmental assessment sea and environmental impact assessment eia procedures in both their legal regulations and practice. May 24, 2015 public participation in decision making is an essential part of the environmental impact assessment eia process, which has become a widely applicable tool for environmental decision making in the world since 7075ies, ensuring consideration of environmental concerns within the planning.