Decision Making in a Changing Climate - World Resources Institute

Box 3.1 Legal Empowerment39The recognition of participation rights is becoming increasingly common as governmentsacknowledge the legal standing of communities and citizens to have a say in the policies andactivities that affect them. International treaties such as the Aarhus Convention and a growingnumber of national laws have codified such rights as access to information, public engagement,and access to justice. 3 Legal mechanisms such as these can help empower communities inthe decision-making process and ensure that community input is integrated into all steps ofa planning process.Simply codifying public engagement into law is not sufficient, however, due to the complexityof many engagement and legal processes as well as the high transaction and opportunity coststhat come with being involved with such processes. 4 The WRI publication A Seat at the Tableidentifies eight policy responses to support more inclusive access rights 5 as well as four stepsto institutionalize more inclusive access: (1) create access rights; (2) ensure equal applicationof access rights; (3) ensure equal ability to use access rights; and (4) create additional rightsthat ensure the ability of the poor to use access rights. 6 Although these steps will look differentin each country due to differing contexts and circumstances, examples of each can be found inworks such as A Seat at the Table 7 and the report “Making the Law Work for Everyone” from theUNDP Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor. 8 National governments should designlaws that take these steps and strengthen the rights of their citizens to both create more robustoutcomes and empower the most vulnerable.Public Engagement for Effective Decision MakingIn this section we identify specific entry points in the planning and policymaking processes inwhich public engagement can be a critical element for anticipating and responding to climatechange. While public engagement alone does not ensure effective decision making, it is necessary.Key to all of these steps is a public with full and complete information about climate change,including potential climate change impacts that may affect their communities and the consequencesof those impacts. It is a fundamental part of any public engagement process to providethat information so that public engagement is meaningful and relevant (see also Chapter 4).Problem IdentificationBefore planning and policy options are even considered, officials should engage the public indefining needs that policies must address to be effective. Such early efforts to engage affectedcommunities, civil society and experts can usefully center on the collection of relevant data.Communities can be engaged by meteorological and other government agencies in vulnerabilitymapping, collecting seasonal data, developing projections of future change, and monitoringchange over time. Public engagement in assessments of risk and vulnerability can in turn galvanizeaction to improve the communities’ preparedness. In Bangladesh, government-led community riskassessments were completed in 32 of 64 districts with the engagement of communities and nongovernmentalorganizations, resulting in the development of risk reduction measures in everydistrict. Community members first completed a Community Risk Assessment, which combinesscientific data and local knowledge to identify, analyze, and evaluate a community’s risks andvulnerabilities. They then developed a Risk Reduction Action Plan that listed priority activities,such as training in disaster preparedness, afforestation initiatives, health and sanitary initiatives,and raising the elevation of roads.Civil society organizations can also help with these assessments, providing a key link betweenthe public and decision makers. When such approaches are not taken, the needs of the mostvulnerable are often neglected. For example, Nella Canales, a member of the Adaptation TechnicalGroup of Peru’s National Climate Change Commission, reported on how the Central Bank ReserveBox 3.2 Barriers to and Principlesof Effective Public EngagementResearch has demonstrated that publicengagement in decision-making processescan lead to better outcomes for thoseaffected by the decisions. 9 Yet, manydecisions continue to be made without fullpublic participation. 10 Why is this the case?There are many barriers to publicengagement. Some people cannotparticipate in decision-making processesbecause they lack access to communicationchannels. Others don’t have the resourcesrequired, such as transportation to publichearings. And some face literacy hurdles,lack official documentation, or do nothave rights to participate. 11 Some are evenexposed to personal risk if they participate.Because of power dynamics, some groups,such as women, may not feel they can takepart. And those likely to be most vulnerableto climate change may need special helpin accessing decision-making processes,as these processes may not be user-friendlyfor many vulnerable groups. In addition,public engagement processes requiresignificant attention, and can involvetrade-offs in time and resources that mightdeter governments. 12A comprehensive study by the U.S.National Academy of Sciences concludedthat effective public engagement shouldbe guided by the following principles: “aclarity of purpose, commitment to use theprocess to inform actions, adequate fundingand staff, appropriate timing in relation todecisions, a focus on implementation, and acommitment to self-assessment and learningfrom experience.” 13 If these principles arenot embraced, public engagement processescan actually result in worse outcomes thanthe use of less inclusive approaches bysolidifying differences among stakeholders. 14public Chapter engagement titledecision making in a changing climate