BEST PRACTICES FOR PROMOTING PARTICIPATION AND LEARNING FOR SUSTAINABILITY: LESSONS FROM COMMUNITY-BASED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT IN KENYA AND TANZANIA

Harry Spaling (), Jesse Montes () and John Sinclair ()
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Harry Spaling: Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, The King's University College, 91250-50 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T6B 2H3, Canada
John Sinclair: Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, 303 Sinnott Building, 70 Dysart Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2M6, Canada

Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), 2011, vol. 13, issue 03, 343-366

Abstract: This paper establishes best practices for community-based environmental assessment (CBEA) in Kenya and Tanzania and examines what participants in community-centered approaches to environmental assessment have learned. Three CBEA cases involving water supply projects were studied using interview methods and action research. Findings show that best practices for encouraging meaningful community involvement include providing access and adequate notice to participants, fairer cost sharing, broader representation of women and youth, participant understanding of the CBEA facilitator and culturally appropriate sharing of findings. Learning outcomes attributable to the CBEA process included technical skills for erosion control, new information about environmental assessment (EA) regulations and shared values of environmental sustainability and community unity. An application of selected best practice approaches in a test case, in order to encourage greater participation and learning, had mixed success. For example, attempts at providing early notice still resulted in it being far too late for most participants and only about one-third of the participants were women. However, a pictograph functioned as an effective tool for reporting CBEA results to the community and demonstrating learning outcomes.

Keywords: Environmental assessment; participation; learning; Kenya; Tanzania (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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DOI: 10.1142/S1464333211003924

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