John R. Parkins

Public Participation as Public Debate: A Deliberative Turn in Natural Resource Management

ABSTRACT This article examines some key similarities and differences between two leading perspectives on public participation: the natural resource management literature and deliberative democratic theory. We assert that contemporary deliberative democratic theory, as proposed by Habermas and others, provides important theoretical and applied insights that are often unexamined in the natural resource literature. Specifically, deliberative democratic theory maintains a focus on the value of public deliberation (dialogue and debate), attention to internal as well as external forms of exclusion, and constructive forms of distrust. The article demonstrates that a deliberative democratic perspective on public participation may serve to challenge some established traditions within the natural resource literature and lead to new ways of conducting and evaluating public participation.

Resource Dependence and Community Well‐Being in Rural Canada*

Abstract  The well-being of residents of resource dependent communities is a question of traditional interest to rural sociologists. The label “resource dependent” obscures how this relationship may vary between particular resource industries, regions, or indicators of well-being. Few analyses have compared the relationship between well-being and resource dependence across different industries, nor tested competing theories about the relationship between resource dependence and well-being. Our paper presents an overview of the relationship between resource dependence—agriculture, fisheries, mining, energy, forestry—and human well-being in Canada. Analysis of 1996 Statistics Canada data revealed a great deal of variation in the effect of “resource” dependence on indicators of well-being (e.g., human capital, unemployment, income): some industries exhibit fairly positive outcomes (e.g., agriculture), others more negative outcomes (e.g., fishing). Consistent with analyses conducted in the United States, these relationships vary by region, suggesting the need for models that incorporate the particulars of place and industry.

Understanding the concept of representation within the context of local forest management decision making

Abstract Public involvement in forest management decision making has become more and more prevalent. With this growth, a large body of literature has emerged that examines ideal forms of public participation processes. Despite these scholarly advances, it is argued that the literature fails to account for the full concept of representation, which is relegated to a one-dimensional interpretation based on the correspondence of the representatives and their constituents, known as descriptive representation. In this paper, a statistical comparison of Alberta-based Public Resource Advisory Groups and the provincial general public is provided. The results are indicative of other similar studies where differences in socio-demographic characteristics and belief and values between the public and representative groups exist. However, in the second part of the paper, a full theoretical treatment of representation is given. In addition to descriptive representation, two other forms of representation are introduced: the representation of subjective interests and the representation of objective interests. Both provide a different interpretation of what constitutes representation and has important consequences for an understanding of forest-management decision making.

Resource development and aboriginal culture in the Canadian north

This paper examines the relationship between resource development and aboriginal community and cultural impacts in Canadas north from the 1970s to the present. Based on a review of published literature, it is contended that northern centred scholarship can be conceptualised in two phases. These are firstly the community impacts phase (1970 to mid-1990s), a phase guided largely by a cultural politics of assimilation, a sociology of disturbance, and an anthropology of acculturation; and secondly the community continuity phase (mid-1990s to present), a phase underpinned by political empowerment, participatory social impact assessment, and the influence of cultural ecology. Due to these shifting political dynamics and research frameworks, and a lack of longitudinal research in the north over the last four decades, it is concluded that the nature of the relationship between resource development and aboriginal culture remains elusive and subject to wide ranging interpretation. Analysis shows that cultural impacts from resource development are dependent on the scale of development and spatial disturbance. It also shows growing political power in the north, a greater focus on community-based research, and renewed discussion of cultural continuity and how it is defined and assessed over time.

The Challenge of Developing Social Indicators for Cumulative Effects Assessment and Land Use Planning

This paper provides a synopsis on social indicators as relevant to cumulative effects assessment and land use planning. Although much has been done to better understand the social dimensions of environmental assessment, empirical work has been lacking on social indicators that could be used either as measurable inputs or outputs for cumulative effects assessment and land use planning in different kinds of communities and regions. Cumulative effects models currently in practice often fail to address deeper issues of community and regional well-being. Against this gap, social scientists are being asked to make reliable generalizations about functional, measurable relationships between certain social indicators and land use change or scenarios. To address this challenge, the Alberta Research Council held a two-day workshop in 2005 with social scientists. The workshop resulted in a list of prioritized social indicators that could be included in cumulative effects modeling/assessments and land use planning. The top five social indicators included population growth rate, education attainment, self-assessed quality of life, equity, i.e., distribution of benefits, and locus of control. Although consensus on social indicators and social thresholds for cumulative effects models was not reached, the insight gained from the workshop will help inform future cumulative effects assessment and land use planning.

Linking social structure, fragmentation, and substance abuse in a resource-based community

Drawing on case-study research from a rural, resource-based community in Alberta, Canada, this paper explores the social and economic context of substance abuse. Specifically, the linkages between social structure, community fragmentation, and family dysfunction offer a way of understanding differential resistance and susceptibility to substance abuse. Five thematic areas were linked to susceptibility in this study: (1) an economy based on multiple divergent sectors, which gives rise to income disparity and social inequality; (2) a highly transient population, which results in social distancing and lack of social support; (3) shift work, which prevents opportunities for consistent and productive family and community relationships; (4) high incomes, which lead to material competition and financial stress; and (5) a culture of entitlement, which produces certain expectations and perceived privileges among some workers and their families. Our findings are consistent with previous research on the link between substance abuse and shift work, work environments, and the social conditions in boomtowns. But this paper also identifies novel themes, such as high incomes and a culture of entitlement, and introduces the notion of slow disasters and cumulative risk histories to help explain susceptibility to substance abuse within this rural community.

Deliberative Democracy, Institution Building, and the Pragmatics of Cumulative Effects Assessment

Cumulative effects assessment is a process of scientific analysis, social choice, and public policy development, yet the linkages among these domains are often less than transparent. Limits to scientific and technical assessment, issues of power and control of information, and episodic forms of civic engagement represent serious challenges to meaningful understanding of cumulative effects assessment and land-use planning. In articulating these challenges, I draw on case studies from Ontarios Lands for Life and Albertas Land-use Framework to illustrate current limitations to cumulative effects assessment on public lands in Canada. As a partial remedy for these limitations, insights into a pragmatic approach to impact assessment, in contrast to decisionistic and technocratic approaches, offer a way forward through a more robust integration of scientific information, civic engagement, and public policy development. I also identify a need for longer-standing institutions that are dedicated to regional planning and cumulative effects assessment in Canada.

The Problem With Trust: Insights from Advisory Committees in the Forest Sector of Alberta

Using observational and interview data from forest sector public advisory committees in Alberta, Canada, this article investigates the differential outcomes emerging from multilayered notions of trust and distrust within small-group settings. Although the applied literature on public participation and a good deal of the literature on trust and risk management demonstrate that trust contributes constructively to group outcomes, this analysis suggests that trust is not everywhere and always a good thing. In fact, high levels of interpersonal trust (familiarity) may represent a kind of corrosive element to the maintenance of democratic norms, especially in long-term group settings. In combining elements of general trust with skepticism, a critical trust is proposed for these deliberative settings.

Culture and food security: a case study of homestead food production in South Africa

Drawing on case study insights from a home gardening program in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, this study explores the relationship between culture and food security in a local context. Informed by an ideational and a process-oriented understanding of cultural analysis, our inductive approach to field research reveals several elements of culture that have direct impacts on local food production: power, gender, identity and cultural change. The study offers insights into the multi-level dimensions of power as it relates to individuals, households, and broader community dynamics that are central to understanding the local dynamics of food security. Also, the local gardening program played a critical role in maintaining a “culture of farming” at the village level while also navigating important changes to local culture, such as the career preferences of local youth. Research implications include an understanding of the adaptive role that local institutions can play in the food security challenges within South Africa.

Patterns of Elitism within Participatory Environmental Governance

A close examination of venues for participatory environmental governance reveals highly constrained settings for citizen engagement. This situation is documented within the broader social milieu by Skocpol as a narrowing of public life which is characterized in this paper by professional, stakeholder, and elitist forms of participatory environmental governance. Case-study evidence is presented from three different governance settings in Canada (environmental assessment, land-use planning, and forest management) identifying two distinct types of elitism: elite representation by design and elite representation by procedure. Two options are presented as a response to this analysis. One option involves accepting elitism by strengthening the linkages between stakeholders and constituencies, and the other option involves fighting elitism by drawing on modes of community-based decision, deliberative activism, and promoting research that highlights the consequences of environmental elitism.