Canadian Forest Service Publications
Assessing the effects of public participation processes from the point of view of participants: significance, achievements, and challenges. 2010. Martineau-Delisle, C.; Nadeau, S. Forestry Chronicle 86: 753-765.
Year: 2010
Issued by: Atlantic Forestry Centre
Catalog ID: 31978
Language: English
Availability: Order paper copy (free), PDF (download)
Abstract
Public participation practices are now common and recognized as a way of including a broader range of interests and social values in forest management. However, we know little about their real benefits. This article presents the results of a study aimed at developing a deeper understanding of the diverse impacts of public participation and, in particular, of forest- related deliberative forums (i.e. committee types of processes). The study is based on an analysis of data collected from 137 respondents—participants and coordinators—who have been involved in more than 120 forest-related public participation processes in the province of Quebec. The study examined the diversity of potential impacts of public participation processes, assessed the significance of the impacts, and evaluated the capacity of existing processes to achieve them. Overall, the study provides practical information to support the evaluation of public participation processes, a requirement that is increasingly imposed on forest practitioners and decision-makers.