How public participation in river management improvements is affected by scale

Bibliographic Data

ID8360979
AuthorsCarly Maynard (Durham University, corresponding author), Carly M Maynard
Year2013
Volume45
Issue2
Pages230-238
Publication date2013-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArea (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0004-0894 • E-ISSN: 1475-4762
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/area.12015
OpenAlexW1585093471
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited24

The importance of extending physically based approaches to catchment management to include social considerations has recently been highlighted alongside increasing legislative pressure to utilise public participation in river management processes. Nine water managers, operating at varying geographical scales, from the UK and north‐west E urope were interviewed to determine their approach to, opinion of, and success in utilising public participation for decisionmaking. The results indicate that despite variations in approaches to, and perceptions of, participation, one dominant factor constrained the use of higher level participation: scale. The results demonstrate that the degree of participation and influence for ‘non‐certified’ experts was inversely proportional to the scale of the project. This was attributed to issues of practicality in communicating between a large number of individuals, but also to underlying factors such as availability of financial support and governing regulations that differ between organisations of different sizes. The findings were used to consider the role of C allon's public education, public debate and co‐production of knowledge models of scientific knowledge production (Callon 1990). It is suggested that, for practical application, traditional models be developed into more reflexive approaches that account for the complexity of real‐world situations

Business · Certification · Economics · Environmental resource management · Geography · Legislature · Management · Political science · Production (economics) · Public participation · Public relations · Reflexivity · Scale (ratio) · Social science · Sociology · Policy Transfer and Learning · Public Policy and Administration Research · Sustainability and Climate Change Governance