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Reducing public participation in a formal procedure: Limits of public meetings concerning the installation of the dams of the Madeira River (Brazilian Amazon)
Author(s) -
Gugliano Alfredo Alejandro,
Luiz Aidee Maria Moser Torquato
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
environmental quality management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.249
H-Index - 27
eISSN - 1520-6483
pISSN - 1088-1913
DOI - 10.1002/tqem.21631
Subject(s) - formality , amazon rainforest , hydroelectricity , public participation , process (computing) , public information , environmental planning , public relations , business , political science , environmental resource management , public administration , engineering , geography , economics , law , ecology , electrical engineering , computer science , biology , operating system
This article examines and discusses problems faced by proposals to increase participation by members of the public in the public debate process related to environmental policies. The analysis is based on an examination of the processes followed to develop several public meetings, which were ostensibly aimed at democratizing the process of implementing hydroelectric installations in the Madeira River in the Brazilian Amazon at the beginning of the twenty‐first century. The analysis concluded that the invitation to the public to participate in discussions regarding the construction of the dams was a mere formality. Not only did members of the public not have access to information that could have helped them understand the real social and environmental impacts of this large‐scale economic development project, but the public was restricted from interfering in its construction. As a consequence, the region is today dealing with a number of difficulties which could have been avoided if the voice of the community had been heard in the public meetings.