PUPLIC
PARTICIPATION
Page 1
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND PARTICIPATORY PROCESSES
Page 2
WHAT
IS PUBLIC PARTICIPATION?
Page 6
DIFFERENT
WAYS
TO INVOLVE THE PUBLIC
Page 7
ROUND TABLES IN CANADA
Page 9
USING
ROUND TABLES IN THE TRANSPORTATION SECTOR IN POLAND
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URBAN
GREENING. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN
BANGKOK
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ENLISTING THE PUBLIC TO CLEAN UP CITIES
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EMPOWERMENT
AND PUPLIC PARTICIPATION
Page17
ICSC'S
ROLE AS A BROKER
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ICSC'S
CANADIAN TEAM-
PUPLIC PARTICIPATION AND MULTI-PARTY PROCESSES
Page 21
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ROUND TABLES IN CANADA1
"The term 'round
table' suggests an open forum where people with different perspectives
can come together to deal with issues of common concern and seek
agreement on ways of resolving them. Everyone around the table
has an equal say, and each perspective carries equal weight."2
What is a Round Table?
In 1986, the Canadian Council of Resource and Environment Ministers,
from the national and provincial governments, established a task
force to address the matter of reconciling public conflicts between
private companies wishing to develop Canada's natural resources
- primarily in the mining, forestry, and petroleum sectors - and
those groups and individuals interested in protecting the environment.
The task force recommended that Round Tables on the Economy and
the Environment (RTEE) be created at the national and provincial
levels of government. Membership would be drawn from government,
large and small industry, environmental organizations, labor,
academia, and aboriginal peoples. RTEEs were intended to provide
a forum in which senior decision-makers could meet to candidly
discuss environmental-economy issues and make recommendations
directly to the Prime Minister and Premiers of their respective
jurisdictions and also report their conclusions directly to the
public.
Round Tables were not designed to challenge the
authority of any existing office or institution of government,
or to function as decision-making bodies. Instead, they would
exert influence, founded on their credibility, independence, and
the exchange of views of important sectors and levels of society.
Depending on the needs and desires of each jurisdiction, the Round
Table's mandate might include overseeing and advising on major
studies, developing strategy, and sponsoring special reports or
demonstration projects. The RT process has been used with significant
benefits in British Columbia to tackle forestry issues and nationally
to address mining issues (The Whitehorse Initiative).
By 1990, the national government, provincial and
territorial governments had established RTEEs. Hundreds of local
and regional governments across Canada also established Round
Tables. By 2001, only the National Round Table on the Economy
and Environment, the Manitoba Round Table on Sustainable Development
and a large number of local Round Tables were still highly active
and effective. Ironically, while provinces had closed down their
Round Tables, often because of a change in the party in power
or due to fiscal cut backs, the concept of addressing conflict
through collaboration of stakeholders working by consensus has
appreciated in value for government decision-makers. Public participation
is now considered a key element in the development of public policy
in Canada at all levels of government, and multi-stakeholder participatory
processes have become mainstream.
While remarkably diverse in both form and function, Round Tables
share several common features: they work to resolve complex problems
related to sustainable development, by consensus decision-making,
and through multi-stakeholder processes. They are non-hierarchical.
By adhering to the principle that everyone at the table has an
equal voice in the discussion of issues, Round Tables have shifted
the historical relationship from hierarchy between governments
and the business and environmental sectors to that of a network
- a web of connections among equals.
"A network is by
definition non-hierarchical. It is a web of connections among
equals. What holds it together is not force, obligation, material
incentive, or social contract, but rather shared values and the
understanding that some tasks can be accomplished together that
could never be accomplished separately."3
Why Use a Round Table?
With many of the issues that are addressed in sustainable urban
development, the general public may be interested in the outcome,
but not motivated enough to become directly involved, leaving
it to others to speak on their behalf. Consequently, the methods
used to receive public input are often designed to enable the
representatives of these various interests to participate effectively
in complex dialogues. The Round Table process is a public participation
approach designed to make the most effective use of multi-stakeholder
involvement.
The advantage of a multi-stakeholder process is
that it can bring together many different voices, meeting face-to-face
to discuss issues, to engage in the process of debate and trade-offs
leading to a consensus on the way to solve a problem. The disadvantage
is that using a multi-stakeholder process as the only means of
public participation carries a risk: the general public may not
support the consensus reached at the Round Table.
If government agencies are uncertain of general
public support for a solution or decision, they should seek to
verify public support for the Round Table recommendations through
public information and consultation processes. The benefits of
this include a better assessment of public support for a decision,
as well as providing the general public with the opportunity to
express their views, which is often as meaningful to citizens
as the specific outcome of the decision.
1 This material
is adapted from an ICSC Handbook on Round Tables. Much of the
material is based on the work of the NRTEE in Canada and the Provincial
Table in British Columbia.
2 British Columbia Round Table, 1990
3 Meadows, Meadows, Randers: 1992. Beyond the Limits:
confronting global collapse, envisioning a sustainable future.
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