Open access
INFRASTRUCTURAL INVESTMENTS DECISION MAKING PROCESSES WITHIN ENVIRONMENTAL DEMOCRACY
Katarzyna IWIŃSKA1, Marek TROSZYŃSKI2
Environment – Contexts – Policies
Publication language: Polish
Journal article
Transformations No. 1-2 (80-81) 2014, Publication date: 26 May 2014
Abstract The intensive economic growth in Poland puts pressure on investors and decision makers to also take into account various social matters. This study tackles the problem of decision making concerning infrastructural investments in Poland. The aim of the article is to present the idea of environmental democracy and show some problems in implementing European environmental law (including: Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters known as the Aarhus Convention). There is also put a distinction between types of public participating and form of governance. We argue that the consultation programs are the crucial elements of participative democracy and they have an additional value of making people more involved in public sphere. The qualitative research on Polish consultation processes (organized between 2006-2010) is presented. The results show some types of problems in implementing the popular idea of social participation and some defects of social consultation processes in Poland.
Instytut Socjologii Collegium Civitas
E-mail: katarzyna.iwinska@collegium.edu.pl
Fundacja Wiedza Lokalna
E-mail: marek.troszynski@wiedzalokalna.pl