Community participation is relevant in the promotion of sustainable development

Introduction

Introduction

Development can be defined as a change that is desirable and contains a list of attributes which a society strives / seeks to achieve. It embraces growth in quality of life, increase in real income per capita, it should lead to improved educational, health and nutritional status. Development at a national level can be seen through increased economic growth and expanded productive capacity as it is usually indicated by Gross National Product (GNP). It should give basic access to freedom, spiritual welfare and fair distribution of wealth. In simple terms, development refers to a change leading to improvement or progress. These developmental achievements should last into the future rather than being short lived, that is sustainable development.

Sustainable development as a new concept for natural resource and environmental management has been defined in different ways by numerous advocates. However the most widely quoted definition is that of the Brundtland Report, World Commission of Environment and Development (WCED, 1987, pg. 8) which states that "sustainable development is that development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." The concept has also been defined by agencies such as the UNEP, as "improving the quality of human life while still living within the carrying capacity of supporting system".

The concept of sustainable development aims at striking a balance between economic development of a certain country and its natural resources. For the IUCN, the concern on the need for sustainable development lies in the serious consequences of the mishandling of the environment can have on the human beings. These consequences include; air pollution leading to global warming, acid rain and the depletion of the ozone layer; irreplaceable damage to biological resources including deforestation water depletion, species extinction (loss of bio diversity) and adulteration and poisoning of soil and water by pesticides, herbicides and toxic wastes. It is vital therefore to balance the way resources are used for development of humankind and the value of the environment to sustain present life and future ones.

Achieving sustainable development:

Sustainable development as a principle entered the development circles around the time of the UN conference on the human environment, 1972 (Stockholm Conference).

Since then, several important principles of environmental management of sustainable development have been put forward. Aspects that characterize any process of sustainable development include: Value for the environment, that is, if development is to be sustainable it must call for the increased emphasis or recognition of the value of the natural, built and cultural environment; extending the time horizon, that is, sustainable development policies should embrace concern for the future; and Equity, which means providing for the needs of the disadvantaged in the society (intra- generational equity) and a realistic concern for the future generation (inter-generational equity). Intra-generational equity calls for addressing the widening gap between the rich and poor and ensure that all those living have a fair share of the process of development. Inter-generational equity is concerned with meeting obligations and being fair to the next generation by leaving them an inheritance of wealth not less than what we inherited.

To achieve sustainable development calls for the avoidance of irreversible destruction of the environment. Irreversible damage to the environment becomes a permanent loss than can not be regressed, thus depriving future generations of the wealth which we inherited. Several approaches for environmental resource use programmes have been designed that allow for sustainable development. Community participation approach is one among the many.

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN THE PROMOTION OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

A community in simple terms refers to a group of people bound together with a common purpose, for example a rural community, cultural community, social community, economic community or it can be the entire global community. The activities of people in communities have greater impacts to the environment. People have developed unlimited power to alter the environment due to the need for development. Communities of people engage in different kinds of economic, social and cultural activities. Some of these activities have detrimental effects to the environment. Forinstance, deforestation, overgrazing, poaching, over fishing and destruction of habitats of living things are among the many impacts of communities on the environment. Also, any development process or project is directed toward improving the welfare of people in their communities. It follows therefore that if sustainability is to be achieved, public participation in any development process is vital.

The origins of the principles of community participation can be traced back from Rio Declaration (principle 19) and through the world charter for Nature (Article 16 and 23).

These emphasizes the need for government to accord an opportunity to all persons participate either individually or otherwise, in formulation of environment decisions and grant access to means of replacement when the environment has suffered damage or degradation.

The principle has been re-affirmed by Rio-Declaration (principle 10) to include three basic elements: These are participation in decision making process; public awareness through provision of information, and access to judicial and administrative proceedings including re-dress and remedy.

Fundamental issues of natural resource management are the allocation of resources, the setting of priorities and the making of choice. The nature and significance of the public interest in resource appraisal were usually assumed or imposed but not specifically considered by governments in developing countries (top-down approach).Ecological, economic and technological considerations tended to be more dominant and aspects of the social worth of resource inputs and outputs were often ignored. Hence Firey (1960) suggested that public consent be incorporated in resource allocation and management everywhere.

Inorder to achieve sustainability, natural resource management in developing countries must call for the development of resources on the basis of community guidelines and priorities. Environmental deterioration in many developing countries is sometimes blamed on inappropriate management methods designed by outsiders rather than the local community in mind. This is because politics tend to play a major part in resource allocation and as a result, some communities tend to have greater political influence than the less fortunate counterparts.

Community participation in the promotion of sustainable development requires analysis of complex issues and large volumes of data. The content analysis techniques has been recommended: it involves identifying opinions offered for, against and about the issue along with reasons given to support these views.

To achieve community participation, environmental education must be provided to the entire community. The purpose of environmental education to communities of people is to create an environment conscious population. This will help to serve two purposes; to limit or reduce the extent of people's impact to the environment because of ignorance- backed activities such as deforestation, overgrazing, poaching overfishing, bad methods of cultivation and destruction of habitats of living things such as wetlands. The other purpose of environmental education is to create a community which can make informed decisions on environment and natural resource use. Providing incentives to support environmentally friendly projects by local people in communities can motivate people positively toward engaging in sustainable development activities. Eradication of poaching, overfishing and dynamite fishing, charcoal burning and deforestation and other threats to the environmental resources sustainability can be well addressed if backed by providing alternative activities which saves the environment thereby meeting people's needs.

The bottom-up approach is required in community participation so as not to impose policies on communities. To meet this objective, there is a need to include environmental education in school curriculum so that students can understand the environment and teach other people at large. There is a need also to have environmental officers up to the grass-root level (parishes). Radio programmes, seminars and workshops are among the many methods to avail environmental knowledge, awareness and skills to people aimed at sustainable development.

RELEVANCE OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN THE PROMOTION OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Community participation is a contemporary strategy in development that has been acknowledged for its capacity to spread benefits of development to a wider community while promoting sustainability.

Among the more important reasons to use this strategy of community participation includes the following:-

The community participation strategy ensures an equitable distribution of benefits gotten from development projects to which the community at large was involved and participated fully. This equitable distribution of benefits from community projects will inturn elicit an extrinsic motivation for the people to take care of the project so that is continue benefiting them for along time. This is said to be a sense of sustainable development.

Community participation develops a sense of responsibility and stewardship ethic among community members toward development projects and natural resources of the environment because they are a result of their own needs and efforts. When people are involved fully from planning stage to the implementation and benefits of a project, they will feel as stakeholders and therefore they are ought to ensure that the project succeeds well for the longest time. In this way sustainable development can be achieved.

Effective participation of communities of people in development programmes requires that people are provided with environmental education. This environmental literacy enables people to acquire knowledge, attain skills, change attitude and gain a sense of participation toward proper utilization of the environment and natural resources. It is this environmental literacy that will encourage all sections of society especially the poor and under privileged to participate in the project hence increasing wise use and management of resources for sustainable development.

Community input is important in undertaking social impact assessment in developing countries for establishment of any development project. For instance social impacts of man-made lakes (dams) have revealed the need to incorporate social variables of the community in the planning and management of development projects. For example, during the construction of Kariba dam, the social impacts included social disruption during resettlement of large number of families, loss of agricultural land, loss of fishing prospects and problems of adjusting to the new areas for settlement. The only solution to avoiding such problems is effective participation of the community from planning stage to implementation and management of any project.

Environmental literacy provided to people to make them participate in development projects and the knowledge and skills they acquire during the process promotes self reliance among the poor and underprivileged people in the community. Self reliance skills will enable these people to try carrying out environmentally friendly development activities/ projects which saves the environment and improves their life. This is very important for sustainability.

Community participation strategy in promotion of sustainable development is relevant because it encourages the sharing of responsibilities for project identification, design, management and execution.

This also helps the community feel a sense of ownership of the project and hence will be enthusiastic to see that it succeeds. This is important if sustainable development is to be achieved.

Both indigenous knowledge and scientific knowledge and technology are important in solving environmental problems. There is a need therefore to integrate indigenous knowledge and scientific knowledge toward conservation of soil fertility, avoiding erosion and better methods of farming in steep slopes with scientific knowledge. Indigenous people posses this indigenous knowledge. The effective strategy to make indigenous knowledge applicable is community participation.

The strategy of community participation toward sustainable development works to lessen the hostile attitude that people often have towards certain development projects such as urban renewal projects. Overcoming this hostility is a very important gear to sustainable development as people will be cooperative with optimistic mind (positive attitude).

The strategy also promotes transparency in financial management when development project are funded by the government or donor agencies which will bring about stakeholder (community) satisfaction. This will help to reduce conflicts and thus lead to sustainable development.

Community participation is essential in the promotion of sustainable development, because both the causes of and solutions to environmental problems are often linked to individual and societal choice. It makes people understand how human society is influencing the environment, as well as the economic, legal and political mechanisms that provide avenues for addressing issues and situations. This is a vital concern for sustainable development.

Community participation provides social groups and individuals with an opportunity to be actively involved at all levels in working towards resolution of environmental problems. This involves ensuring environmental citizenship among the people where everybody should be a member of the environment. A number or a citizen is supposed to take care of the environment than a non member. This attitude converges at enabling sustainable development.

This strategy is important in environmental management since it helps to identify leadership skills among some members of the community who are actively involved in the process. This is important in bringing together other people for the course of proper environmental management and development.

LIMITATIONS FACED IN IMPLEMENTING COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION STRATEGY OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.

It should be noted however that, in developing countries, community participation in development initiatives is still rare and demanding and not widely practiced. The limitations of this method include time involved, limited resources to effect the method, commitment, tolerance and the difficulty in ensuring that public input is relevant to the issue in question. One has to balance between urgency of the problem and participation by the larger community. In terms of financial resources, it demands steady uninterrupted flow such that participants are not frustrated by inconsistencies.

Conclusion

Despite of the above limitations, sustainable development will be effectively attained if an only if the users of the resources and the consumers of the goods and services resulting from environmental resources are actively involved in the planning, management and the execution of development projects, that is the community at large. It is the people (community) who eventually make choices on how they are going to use the resources to meet their economic, social and cultural development. Environmental deterioration in many countries is sometimes blamed on inappropriate management methods designed by outsiders rather than the local community in mind. To achieve community participation where policies are not imposed on people but people becomes part of the project (shareholders), environmental education should be provided to people.

References

Enger and Smith (2006) Environmental science:

A study of interrelationships (10th Ed)

McGraw-Hill companies Inc. New York.

United Nations conference on environment and

Development (1992). The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. Gineva, Switzerland, UNCED Secretariat.

Michael L. Mckinney, Schoch R.M (1998). Environmental

Science, Systems and Solutions, Web Enhanced edition, West Pub, USA.

Community participation is relevant in the promotion of sustainable development

By: haykal39

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