GLIN==> New Report From CIELAP - Public Ignored in Great Lakes Water Management Talks

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Submitted by <cielap@cielap.org>

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Public ignored in Great Lakes water management talks

Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy study urges government 
organizations focus on incorporating citizens into decision-making process 
rather than just gaining their approval on decisions already made.

Full report: http://cielap.org/GLPublicPart.pdf

(Toronto, December 3, 2004) In a report released today titled Public 
Participation in Water Management in the Great Lakes: Provincial and Joint 
Initiatives, the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy 
(CIELAP) charges the public is being shut out of the water management 
decision-making process in Great Lakes jurisdictions. The report argues that 
citizens could have a far more influential role in determining the future of 
their communities and water resources, but do not because the public 
participation guidelines to which Great Lakes government organizations are 
generally subjected are rarely implemented. The report, prepared by Jolante 
Rasteniene, studied a number of major Canadian organizations involved in the 
management of the Great Lakes, and found that the public involvement process 
is often poorly prepared and is exercised without sufficient resources. The 
study suggests communities would be better equipped to participate in water 
management strategies by well organized, transparent long-term programs with 
clear goals and feedback mechanisms, and recommends that:
 a.. all Great Lakes watershed management activities, including individual 
projects and public involvement, should be coordinated by a central agency 
which would unify available expertise
 b.. agency guidelines for public participation should include a learning 
environment, as well as creating related institutions to facilitate further 
knowledge development
 c.. the public should be regularly updated on the progress of major 
regulatory developments,
 d.. public participation plans should be fully integrated into program 
strategies and strictly enforced in the understanding that they provide the 
means for capacity building
 e.. public participation costs should be estimated for each project, and 
the sources of funding should be predetermined and guaranteed for the 
duration of a particular project.
 f.. priorities should be focused on building relationships and 
understanding between participants to ensure long-term viability for 
individual projects
 g.. federal or/and provincial funding should be made available
 h.. resources should be made available for innovative projects and 
community research. "We are concerned because citizens are led to believe 
they do not have a say in the way their water resources are managed," says 
CIELAP Executive Director Anne Mitchell. "The agencies dealing with 
watershed management in the Great Lakes, for the most part, are ignoring 
directives that should give weight to what affected citizens think, which 
produces a feeling of helplessness. Promises to include citizens are often 
not lived up to, largely due to unpredictable funding and a lack of 
commitment. That is a serious breach of our citizens' environmental rights. 
Watershed projects could achieve so much more with well prepared and well 
funded public participation."
-30-

For further information, please contact: Anne Mitchell, Executive Director, 
CIELAP at 416-923-3529 ext 25
Founded in 1970, the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy is 
an independent, not-for-profit research and educational organization whose 
mission is to provide leadership in the research and development of 
environmental law and policy that promotes the public interest and 
sustainability. 

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