Estratègies per al desenvolupament sostenible - Generalitat de ...

Participation – a loaded termParticipation is clearly a “good idea” that nobody from any position will wantto say they are against. But they could often be talking about very differentthings. To some it will be a goal or aspiration, to others a demand, and toothers a description of the way things are. There are too many simplisticexhortations to “get everyone participating and democratize the process”.Agenda 21 called for the “maximum possible participation”. But if we considerwhy participation is needed it is clear that it is not going to be an easy business.Participation is needed because current inequities, bad land management,stakeholder stalemate or other problems persist, due to misunderstandingsor lack of knowledge among stakeholders of each other’s perspectives, powersand tactics, and the potential for change in these. Participation processes arefundamental to NSSDs – to understand multiple perspectives, negotiate andcut “deals” between the needs of wider society and local actors, formpartnerships and to maintain NSSDs as “alive processes”, not “dead papers”.Thus everyone agrees that participation is both a right and a practical necessity.But its form, mechanisms and functions need to be carefully shaped.Participatory mechanisms such as a national sustainable development forum,steering group, working groups and local-level learning groups need to beexplicitly designed to tackle particular problems.Source: Adapted from Mayers et al (2001) 11Levels of participation in policy processes1. Participants listening only – receiving information from a government publicrelations campaign or open database.2. Participants listening and giving information – through public inquiries, mediaactivities, “hot-lines”.3. Participants being consulted – through working groups and meetings heldto discuss policy.15411 Referenced in OECD-UNDP, Strategies for Sustainable Development. A Resource Book. 2002. London.Earthscan. P. 178.