Public Participation In Wildlife Management
As public participation in environmental decisions has increased, natural resource management agencies have been challenged to involve stakeholders constructively in the resolution of a variety of contentious issues… Results suggest that quality stakeholder involvement processes use scientific information, have genuine influence on decisions, treat citizens fairly, and promote informative communication and learning. [Summary excerpted from website]
The research provides an analysis of how evaluative criteria may be used to improve the design of stakeholder involvement in wildlife issues. Based on literature and interviews with stakeholders in two communities experiencing wildlife problems, researchers developed criteria to aid in design of public involvement strategies.
The results showed that stakeholders preferred certain characteristics of involvement processes in both cases; in particular, specific quality attributes were important, including:
- Process uses scientific information
- Has a genuine influence on the decision
- Treats all citizens equally
- Promotes communication and learning