PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - DRAWING THE BOU NDARl ES

1. G. Bush, MSC, A. Gillson, MSc, M. Homllton, BSc, M. Perrin, PhD*

ABSTRACT Sustainable development and the Water Framework Directive demand stakeholder engagement and more specifically, public participation if they are to be successful. Indeed, signatories to the Aarhus Convention adopt a righfsbosed approach and guarantee righfs of access to information, public participation in decisiomaking and access to justice in environmental mutters. This paper explores the justification and need to involve the public in the decisiomaklng process. It discusses the issues involved, the approach and technologies that can supporf and facilltate the participation process and the benelits that can flow from such involvement. lt draws on practical experience gained from a long-term mapping and consultation project carried out for the Countryside Agency. Key points of interest and learning from the consultation process are dlscussed and recommendations are given for fuiure public participation exercises.

Key words: Aarhus Convenffon; cmu1Mon; declskm-maklng; engaging stakehdders; geographic lntbmatlon systems; CIS; public padiclpallon; wstcrinabe development and web-based mapping.

*Technical director, environmental scientist, consultaflon manager, and senior project manager, respectively; Information Solutions Group, Black & Veatch Ltd., UK.

This paper was presented at CIWEM's Winter Meeting, entft/ed 'Dellvering Sustainability Challenges and Lessons", held in

London on 30 January 2004.

INTRODUCTION Citizens and their leaders face many complex policy issues that involve balancing concerns related to environmental protection, economic development and social equity. Balancing these concerns in a holistic manner is commonly termed 'sustainable development'. defined by the UK

government as '...ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come'''). Members of the Sustainable Development Communications Network", amongst many others, would argue that sustainable development is not a new idea. Many cultures over the course of human history have recognised the need for harmony between the environment, society and !he economy. What is new is an articulation of these ideas in the context of a global industrial and information Indeed, new legislation and initiatives, e.g. the Water

Framework Directivec4), embrace this philosophy and since it Involves changing policy and practice at an individual level through gradations to an international scale, it involves engaging stakeholders and public participation.

Aarhus Convention In accepting that sustainable development is about balancing various concerns. there is rarely only one way to define a problem, or one right answer.Thus, there is never one obvious course of action that suits a11 stakeholders. To ensure government accountability, transparency in the decision- making process and responsiveness to public concerns. signatories to the Aarhus convention@)(of which the UK is one), adopt a rights-based approach and it guarantees:

(i) Rights of access to information (il) Public participation in decision-mking (iii) Access to justice in environmental matters

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The Aarhus Convention (1998) is a new kind of environmental agreement, linking environmental and human rights and acknowledglng that we owe an obligation to future generations. In doing so. it establishes that sustainable development can only be achieved through the involvement of all stakeholders, including those not normally considered experts, in deciding what the environmental problems are and what might be the solutions to those problems. It encourages full and meaningful participation In environmental issues and decision-making processes by the scientific community, policy makers and the public. Consequentiy, it focuses on the interactlons between the citizen and public authoritles in a democratic context and on forging a new process for public participation in the negotiation and implementation of environmental solutions at international, national, regional and local levels. The UKs commitment and endorsement of Aamus is embodied in the following quote made by Michael Meacher at the first meeting of the Parties to the Arhus Convention held at Lucca on 21 October 2002:

"It is the public who often have the local knowledge and expertise which can contribute to better decisions. They also often have a more long term interest in the outcome of decisions which can affect their nelghbourhood and the lives of their children and their children's children.. . . . . We want to give people the information they need, rights to participate in decisions that affect them and their quality of life, and access to justice. We want better; more inclusive decision-making. We know that the more minds that are brought to b a r on the sorts of dimcult decisions we have to make, the greater the chances of us making wise decisions based on considering the issues from a range of perspectives. This is vital to achieve sustainable development."

Objectives This paper demonstrates how certain activities have had a positive influence on the mapping process of the Mapping Access Land in England Project and draws on experience gained and lessons learned from the project, in addressing stakeholder engagement and in particular, public participation. It is hoped that with sagacious insight, the experiences and outcomes described here may benefit and help inform future projects that involve environmental decision-making, e.g. environmental impact plans, coastal management planning, sustainable development initiatives and, of particular relevance, river basin management planning, under the Water Framework Directive.

Mapping Access land in England Project The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CROW), sometimes called the 'Right to Roam', placed a duty on the Countryside Agency (CA) to prepare maps of all open country (mountain, moor, heath and down) and common land registered in England (under the Commons Registration Act 1965"). When completed in 2005. this project will provide an accurate map showing open country and registered common land in England, where the public will have a new rlght of access on foot, for recreational purposes.All mapping and consultation work relating to this duty is being carried out by Black & Veatch Ltd, via a four year rolling-programme dividing England Into eight areas (Fig. 1). This is a huge undertaking invoking the use of over 360 reference datasets, a team of 80 full-time staff and three subcontractors. The mapping is being conducted in three stages:

0) A draft map is published and this is then subject to public consultation

Fig. I . Mapping areas in England

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(ii) Once all the comments from the consultation process have been assessed, a provisional map is issued and is open to appeal by those with a legal interest in the land. Once all appeals have been heard, the map is issued in conclusive form

(iii) A commencement order WIII start the new right of access

To-date. the issue of the draft and provisional maps is completed and this has identified approxlmately 7% of the total area of England as either open country. or registered common land. The last of the conclusive maps will be completed by autumn 2005, with access being implemented across the country on a region-by-region basis. The consultation process, an Integral part of implementing the CROW legislation, is the most extensive of its kind in terms of (i) Expanse - it covers the whole of England (ii) Inclusiveness - any member of the public can comment

(iii) Comprehensiveness - a database is maintained of all

on the draft map

correspondence and the outcome of such correspondence

referenced to the parcel of land they refer to; an audit trail is kept of the decision process and ail commentees informed as to the outcome

(v) Far-reaching -the outcome potentially affects the recreational activity of a large proportion of the population of England

(iv) Thoroughness - all comments are geographically

The consuitation process involves a wide variety of consultation techniques. Over 28,000 formal consultation responses have been received and over 25,000 enquiries answered, via a professionally staffed helpline. The country's first ever web-based statutory consultation exercise has been enabled through a specially designed website", which has received over 35 million hits in three years and generated 3 million unique, user-defined maps. Over 118 public roadshows have been attended by over 12 000 people around the country and around 1M3 000 statutory paper maps will have been distributed by the end of the project.

Key stakeholders were identified as interest groups representing landowners, recreational users, countryside access managers, the general public's new statutory local access forums and national and regional media. Further Information on the strategy development is publicly available (O.

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND PUBLIC PARTlC I PATI ON.

Fig. 2. Adaption of Arnstein's ladder of ParficipOton

creating awareness of environmental issues and helping to increase acceptance and commitment towards intended plans. However, there are different levels of influence and these are often represented by the much used and adapted Arnstein's 'Ladder of Participation'('@ (Fig. 2). For the purposes of this project, the ladder has been compressed to the three main areas: (i) information supply (il) consultation (iil) active involvement

These are the same terms used in the Water Framework Directive.

The phrase 'public participation' does not appear In the Water Framework Directive (it is taken from the Aarhus Convention), so it is important to ascertain the distinction between stakeholder engagement and public participation, in this paper we refer to public participation as participation by unorganised groups, i.e. the general public; and stakeholder engagement as participation by organised, special interest groups ('I).

Information Supply This is the foundation of any form of public participation. In the passive form, only access to background information is provided; in the positive form there is active dissemination of information. in our experience, the latter is essential to make consultation and active involvement work effectively.

Consultation This is the first level of real participation, where administratiie bodies consult people and interested parties (stakeholders) to learn from their knowledge, perceptions, experiences and ideas. Consultation is used to gather information or opinions

Public participation can be generally defined as allowing people to influence the outcome of plans and working processes? It is a means of improving decision-making,

from those involved, helping develop solutions based on this knowledge. Reports, scenarios or plans are presented and people are asked to comment. However, the process normally

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does not concede any share in decision-making and professionals are under no formal obligation to take people's views on board.

Active Involvement This is a higher level of participation, where interested parties actively participate in development and implementation of plans by discussing issues and contributing to their solution. Essential to active involvement is the potential for participants to influence the process. Still higher levels of participation are shared decision-making and self-determination. Shared decision-making implies that interested parties not only participate actively in the planning process, but become partly responsible for the outcome.

This project has helped the CA to fulfil its statutory duties, by informing stakeholders about their new rights and responsibilities under the CRoW Act and helping them to get involved in the consultation process and play an active part in the delivery of accurate maps of open country and registered common land. This has been achieved through a variety of methods drawn from all three levels.

INFORMATION SUPPLY National and local Press/Media The use of national and local media for targeted publicity campaigns was regarded as essential in raising awareness of projects of this nature, e.g. in the case of the mapping project, the phrase 'right to roam' was adopted by the media to describe access rights, reinforcing the misconception that the CRoW Act enabled people to walk where and whenever they wished. Therefore, a vital part of the consultation has been to work to dispel this misconception and highlight that the new rights are subject to new responsibilities. The media has not always helped this aim and a fine balance exists between generating useful media coverage to enable wide public participation, whilst avoiding extreme media attention focussing on negative issues.

Roadshows It was found that people wanted to get involved, but did not always know how they could do this. It was thought that face- to-face communication was the best way to stimulate consuitation on the draft maps and holding roadshows was identified as the key to informing and involving the public and facilitating direct communication with stakeholders on a personal level. Roadshows were accessible events, enabling people to view and interpret the maps and to have their questions answered by experienced team members. To ensure the events reached as many people as possible. the timing and geographical area were speciflcally targeted according to the individual demographics of each area.

Helpline It was found that the effect of direct contact with the public to answer queries and concerns facilitated information flow and involvement in the project. This was probably best demonstrated by the number of people who engaged directiy with project staff, via a dedicated helpline. This ongoing service has operated nationally for verbal and written access enquiries and not restricted to dealing with enquiries relating to the mapping and consultation processes. Whilst outsourcing heipline services (offshoring) has become increasingly common, it was decided to use skilled operators with an extensive knowledge of the CRoW Act and countryside legislation. Stakeholders could speak directly to a heipline member who had a broad knowledge and understanding of their issues and who was able to offer information and assistance in a non-scripted and useful fashion. The helpline has responded to more than 25.000 verbal and written enquiries. Operated in an open, efficient and professional way, the helpline has been responsible for generating a tremendous amount of trust and confidence in the project and the way that ongoing consultation is being managed.

Working With Stakeholder Groups The targeted publicity campaign was supplemented in a number of less formal ways, to ensure it was as wide-reaching as possible. Most notably, by working with stakeholder organisations and pressure groups, it was possible to raise awareness, disseminate information and encourage participation In the consultation exercise; working closely with over 400 representatives of a wide variety of organisations, e.g. Ramblers Association, National Farmers Union, Open Spaces Society and the Country Land and Business Association, to utilise their networks and distribute and disseminate information through meetings, newsletters, publications and mailing lists. By placing stakeholders at the centre of the process, the consultation has been dynamic and responsive, enabling us to learn from experience and feedback in the early areas of work and adjust processes and methods in subsequent areas.

In addition, time has been invested in working with over 1 OOO local authority representatives, including seminars and the provision of formal training. The 577 statutory deposit venues, e.g. libraries, were encouraged to use their position within the community to promote the public consuitation exercise. Consequently, they have taken an active role in publicising the maps and encouraging the public to submit their formal comments. Working in partnership with the display venues has empowered them to respond to public enquiries and encouraged a greater degree of participation from within the organisations themselves. The project also worked

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Fig. 3. hteractive mapping website

with over 10.000 parish councils, who were issued with statutory maps, actively encouraging them to moke maps available to parishioners. Parish counciis, a significant force at a local level, have been invaluable information outlets and have interacted with the project team via the helpline on a regular basis.

Website In keeping with the UK government’s modernislng aspirations, including making government services available electronically, a website was developed to enable the public to generate site-specific maps dynamically and enter comments on-line (see Fig. 3). The website went live in November 2001 and in the period to July 2005. it received almost 35 million hits. Around 3 million individual mops have been created and viewed online and more than 70 700 have

been printed. However, public confidence in web-based consultation remains relatively low, with less than 9% of all comments received being submitted directly online. At flrst glance, this corresponds with the current estimate that only one in ten citizens have ever used a government on-line serviceoz’. However, deeper analysis suggests that the website has been the primary source that stakeholders have chosen to explore and view the statutory maps, with feedback being submitted through more traditional means, e.g. about 25% of comments received in paper format have had a web-generated map attached and many public enquiries refer to the website. demonstrating that stakeholders are using this technology.

Accessibility Inclusive and accessible consultatlon was achieved through a number of means, e.g. information on the website was in a variety of languages and a talking leaflet was made available for the visually impaired. In addition, colours used on the statutory mops were tested for colour-blindness suitability. The variety of media in which information was available for consultation purposes was found to be extremely important. In today‘s multi-media environment, web-bosed information is becoming standard. However, our experience has highlighted that the provision of accurate information by more traditional means must not be neglected.

CONSULTATION Consultation was designed to elicit and utilise local knowledge. to make the flnal maps as accurate as possible. In this way, stakeholder participation was explicitly recognlsed not only as valuable, but paramount to the successful delivery of mops which all stakeholders could trust.

During the consultation period on each draft map, stakeholders were invited to submit formal comments on whether or not land was shown correctly as open country or registered common land and these were assessed against established mapping criteria. Through this process, open country and registered common land could be added to or removed from the map, or boundaries of mapped land amended. More than 28,000 individual comments have been received during the consultation process. Approximately 33% of consultation responses have resulted in a change to the

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map. demonstrating the extent to which stakeholders have directly influenced the maps and, consequently, implementation of the CRoW Act. This means that people are directly able to see the results of their actions in terms of the CRoW Act. Thii proved important, for m n after the flrst draft maps were issued, it became clear that public understanding of a 'draft' map was not the some as that envisaged within the mapping methodology. Public perception was that the maps had mistakes on them. rather than being a flrst draft, open to improvement through public participation and the contribution of local expertise. lt w a s apparent that the consultation strategy needed to address this and this was done via more directed communication. Using a subtle shift in emphasis, understanding of the purpose of the draft maps was increased, to make the public more aware of their rob in the creation of accurate maps of open country and registered common I d . Feedbackclriven changes were also made to the mapping process. e.g. the increased use of uptc-date aerial photography which ultimately resulted in more accurate draft maps.

The feedback has contlnuousiy improved the mapping process in subsequent areas and the number of comments has reduced as maps have been produced in successive areas. The number of appeals agalnst provislonai maps has been much lower than the responses made to the draft maps (an average of 80% less). This may be a direct result of public response to the consuitatlon process and implementation of new methods to improve accuracy in subsequent draft mapping.

ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT Active invoivement in the mapping project w a s not the some as for many other projects; participants did not play a role in decision-making or solullonwring. However, partlcipatlon in consultation on the draft mops. with the provldon of local knowledge and data, has influenced outcomes of the areas mapped 0s open country and registered common land. Active involvement on the proJect began with development of the methodology. Recognising that the new access rights were controversial and that the legislation was complex consultation with about 200 stakeholder organlsotlons was carried out and about 40 replies to the proposed methodology were received. Not surprlslngly. the views expressed were extremely dberse. in part, this was due to intense media speculation about the CRoW Act, which had antagonised groups with differing, often poiarised viewpoints. Access to people's privately owned land (sometimes their livelihood), has been pHt4 directly agalnst a iong-held belief in the right of walkers to enJoy the countrydde of England without restriction. Uncertainty and anxiety are unavoidable, but part of this consuitatton process and involvement has

been about mnaglng the differing viewpoints and trying to establish acceptance of the princlpies and processes invobed. even when agreement on speciflc parcels of land might be unlikeiy.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY Given the scale and complexity of the mapping project, the use of database, GIs and web technologies was almost Inevitable. However, most environmental projects requirlng consultation hove a large spotlal component and would also benefit from the use of these technologies. Such technologies support efficient stakeholder engagement and provide timely management information, which is invaluable for creating a dynamic, respondve consultation process.

As the proJect has involved management of a complex process of mapping and public consultation on eight reglons across the whole of England, the solution placed a GIs database at the heart of the project. The mopping access database (MAD) is a relational data- currently holding 3.5 million records. It is anticipated that MAD will contain about 4 million records by the end of the project in Autumn 2005.

Mapping Access Database Whilst MAD forms the hub and engine of the project, it has been accessed via a number of interfaces, these are:

Helpline The helpilne allowed consultation team members to record informotion relating to the project, via contact with key stakeholders and members of the public. Using the system, contact details, follow-ups to correspondence and uncompleted actions have been recorded. It is also possiMe to generate statistlcs relating to the numbers, method and subject of correspondence, to allow the planning and forecasting of future responses.

Website To facilitate the consultation process. a custom interactive wehsite was developed that can dynamically produce maps based on supplied location information, e.g. postcodes, place names and coordinates. This uses GIs web technology to allow data to be vlewed and queried over the web".

Desktop access mapping system The desktop access mapping system (DAMS) gave CA staff acces to the electronic map of open country and registered common land, qs we11 as the audit trail used in its creation, via a bespoke GIs application. There is also a legol requirement for the general public to have access to draft maps of open country at the scale at which they were mapped. for consultation purposes and this can be carried out via DAMS.

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Desktop access mapping internal tools This project has been the first in the UK to use the revolutlonary MasterMap data developed by the Ordnance Survey (0s). MasterMap is a poiygonised and attributed version of the OS large-scale Landline product with over 400 million polygon objects. Working as a tool within a proprietary GIs, desktop access mapping internal tools (DAMITS) allowed the mapplng team to create parcels of land from selected 0 s MasterMap polygons, analyse and record the habitat /land cover of the parcel and register a decision on those parcels. it also allowed the team dealing with responses from the public consultation to record comments from members of the public against specific parcels of land. These comments were anaiysed, the results recorded in the database and then formatted onto 'determination sheets' for field staff use, or for mailing to the member of the public that made the comment.

Placing this technology at the heart of the project has given the benefits of providing a digital audit trail of all decisions; making the process traceable, transparent and consistent: having clear. structured and unamblguous management of all data; and facilitated engagement wlth stakeholders. including statutory public consultatlon and maps that could be generated dynamically and viewed over the internet.

Although a technical approach was adopted, attention was paid to societal issues, such as constraints on computer access, the internet and the degree to which public participants were comfortable with the technology, e.g. under CROW Regulations, the public had the right to view the "map" at the scale of capture. A specific GIs application was developed to view data and parcel information, so that a member of the public could be shown the map with the help of an experienced operator acting as guide.

Data Nearly 320 different datasets have been registered on the system, amountiog to about 650 Gb of vector and raster data. Vector data represents discrete features defined as points, lines and polygons in a GIs. Raster data represents map features as cells in a grid matrix. Some of the most important and more common dotasets are listed below: 0) OS MasterMap for the whole of England (1 :1250 and

(ii)Aeriol photography for the whole of England (1:1O,ooO

(iii) Phase 1 habitat maps (iv) Environmentally sensitive area maps (v) Moorland line map (vi) National inventory of woodland maps (vii) Landscape characteristic change maps

1 :2500 scale data);

scale), less than 2 years old

The Aarhus Convention states that environmental data should be made readlly available to all those who ask. it was found that thls was not always possible, as most of the datasets belng used for the mapping were not in the public domain and therefore involved copyright issues. However, because of the awareness of the variety of data used, captured at different scales. different times and to varying specifications, due attention was paid to metadata (data about data). This ensured against data mis-use, arriving at Incorrect conclusions when combining differing datasets, and enabled explanation to the public of some of the data anomalies and ambiguities.

CONCLUSIONS 1. Constralnts on participation often involve more than

overcoming technical barriers. Lack of awareness, scepticism and suspicion about the eftlcacy of participation and lack of trust in government and government agencies, oil influence public altitudes towards active engagement.

2. Despite early efforts on the mapping project, there was an initial high degree of alienation and disbelief in the impact of participation on the decision-making process and outcomes. Only when it was demonstrated that comments affected the outcome of the provisional map, did the publlc gain trust in the process.

3. Public consultation and stakeholder engagement is not a "tick box' exercise to satisfy project auditors; if planned and executed well it has real beneflts in tangible and intangible form. However, the lnitlal outlay can be significant. On the mapping project, approximately 35% of the €16 mililon costs can be attributed to public consultation activities.

4. With the experience gained, it Is recommended that an attitudinai survey is undertaken to measure consensus amongst main stakeholder groups. Whilst the beneflts of stakeholder participation are now widely recognised, there is a need to measure and monitor their realisation. Systems can be put in place initially to address more intanglbie aspects of stakeholder consultation.

5. Many organisations and agencies present informotion to the public in a way that they thlnk is best. There is limited research, especially in GiS and web technologies, which gives a clear indlcdon 0s to how the public wants to be engaged, or how best to go about this engagement so that it informs the decision process. The Water Framework Directive is going to be the flrst of many sustainable development infflatlves.

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Stakeholder engagement and public participation needs to be correct, so that the outcomes are indeed sustainable developments.

6. Consultation often takes a written form. precluding open and wide debate. On the mapping proJect, the consultation and appeals process had a quasi-legal structure that encouraged adversarial exchanges rather than constructive debate. To truly move into and develop active participation, an informal environment is needed, where participants are regarded as trusted equals. It Is difficult to quantitatively assess the degree to which public participation and stakeholder engagement has been a success, Anecdotal experiences show that people from all stakeholder groups encountered directly, at roadshows, meetings and on the heipiine. are now showing, on balance, a greater acceptance of the process and Its outcomes. This Is largely due to provision of clear, accurate information and demonstrating that the information stakeholders provide Is valued. Perhaps true consensus can never be achieved: however, it is believed that the mapping project has succeeded In bringing together people who were firmly opposed at the beginning. Involvement has led to more public acceptance, even ownership, of the flnai maps. This project experience supports the view that genuine involvement of citizens is essential if sustainabllity, legitimacy and democracy are to be achieved.

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(3) SD GATEWAY Website: www,sdgateway.net/introsd/definitions.htm

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(5) UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE. Convenfion on access to information, public partfclpafion In declsion-maklng and access to justice In environmentd mafters. Arhus, Denmark June, 1998.

(6) COMMONS REGISTRATION ACT 1965. TSO, 1965. (7) COUNTRYSIDE AGENCY Website: wwwca-mapping.co.uk

(8) COUNTRYSIDE AGENCY Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, Mapplng of Access land In England - Consultation Plan. CA. 2003, Website: www.countryside.gov.uk/access/ mapping/consultation.

(9) EUROPEAN COMMISSION. Common lrnplementation Sfrafegy for the Wafer Framework Dlrectlve, Guidance Document No. 8, Public Partfclpation In Relafion to the Water Framework Dlrecfive. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg, 2003.

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(1 2) BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON. lnfernational e-Economy Benchmarking - The World's Most Effecflve Policies For The e-€conornv. London, November 2002.

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