Popular Participation And Environmental Management In Urban Communities

1
Popular Participation And Environmental
Management In Urban Communities

• Dr Edsel E. Sajor
• Urban Environmental Management Field of Study
• SERD-AIT

2
What is participatory development?

• A development-by-people approach that regards
  popular participation as a goal in itself, and
  the process through which other development goal
  must be defined. It contrasts with the idea of
  seeing participation as simply a means to promote
  development goals fixed from above or from
  outside the community concerned.

• Core elements of participatory development
• Shifting capacity from the national level to the
  local level, and from authorities to citizens.
• Empowerment of the poor and marginalized groups
  for them to participate in defining their
  interests and in decision-making.
• Critical importance of civil society
  organizations in meaningful participation and
  having a healthy collaborative relationship with
  the state authority at various levels.

3
Why is a participatory approach necessary in
creating more liveable cities and urban
comunities?

• Because of multi-dimensional and multi-sectoral
  nature of urban environmental problems and
  solutions.
• Environmental problems in cities are the result
  of human-mediated and natural changes in various
  interlinked media (e.g. water, air, land, solid
  waste)
• People belonging to various sectors and
  stakeholder groups constitute the victims and
  agents of pollution as well as the agents of
  better environment (e.g. private business,
  government agencies, city residents, etc.).

• Because improving urban environmental quality
  requires breaking down of the task into various
  levels
• International
• National
• Sub-national regions
• City and urban towns
• Communities
• Households

• Because creating more livable cities require
  long-term, sustained public action and
  monitoring, as well as behavioral and
  attitudinal changes in people.

4
What is the importance of civil society
organizations or NGOs in participatory
development?

• Participatory development is premised on a
  healthy relation between civil society and the
  state in advancing development goals, including
  the goal of sustainable urban environment. Civil
  society organizations or NGOs are an essential
  partner in fostering this relation.

• Civil society organizations or NGOs are important
  to states in that they can
• Encourage governments to adopt innovations from
  the voluntary sector
• Educate and sensitize the public about their
  rights and opportunities
• Collaborate in making government programmes more
  effective
• Attune programmes to public needs
• Strengthen local institutions and make them more
  accountable
• Act as conduits for citizen consultation and
  advocacy
• (Clark, 1995)

5
What are the possible basic types of State-Civil
Society relationship?

• Generally speaking, State-Civil Society
  relationships can be classified into three basic
  typologies

• Adversarial
• (Characterized by deep-rooted mutual distrust,
  jealousy and competition.)

• Too cozy
• (Characterized too much subservience and
  dependence on the part of the NGOs vis-à-vis the
  government.)

• Healthy, collaborative partnership
• (Characterized by shared common objective
  between the two parties, partnership in work
  based on mutual respect, acceptance of autonomy,
  independence, and pluralism of NGO opinions and
  positions.)

6
What are the important requirements for enhanced
popular participation in sustainable development
goals in cities and urban communities?.

• Officials and agencies of the government
  understand and practice participatory and
  democratic style of leadership.

• Channels of popular participation have been
  institutionalized and its utilization is widely
  perceived by citizens as effective.

• Adequacy of civic culture among citizens (or
  those attitudes among citizens supportive of
  development goals and their active role and
  obligations and a sense of trust and consensus on
  the legitimacy of political institutions,
  direction and content of public policy).

• Autonomous civil society organizations.

• Empowerment of the poor and other marginalized
  sectors.