While the opportunity to give input sometimes stands out, the right to participate also applies in decisions where rights and interests may be less recognizable. In these cases - and even in other, seemingly less-complicated environmental cases - it is not easy for citizens or NGOs to orient themselves in the maze of environmental legislation and administration. The citizens - the "public" - often turn to more organized forms of participation to make their voices heard: They organize themselves into more formal groups or they contact and cooperate with well-organized environmental NGOs. These groups can bridge the gap between individuals and authorities, represent the public in certain cases or be the partners for dialogue with those "in power."
Effective citizen and NGO participation requires assistance from legal professionals, especially regarding access to justice. Involvement of scientists or journalists can also give a request or complaint the sound scientific justification and media support it may need. Another prerequisite for success is cooperation and partnership with local or central authorities and their agencies and with involved businesses. This requires knowledge of efficient lobbying techniques, coalition building and other methods of nonformal public participation.
All this shows the need for services that support citizens and NGOs. These services should increase the capacity and knowledge of the public and NGOs through publications and training programs and should assist in specific public participation cases. Until recently, only a few initiatives in some CEE countries could provide such assistance. This is why the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe launched a Special Earmarked Grants initiative: to support NGO efforts to establish advisory services projects and to promote public participation in environmental decisionmaking in the CEE countries.
The goal of the initiative was to give funding for NGO-based advisory service projects that would:
Special requirements for the grant proposals included the following:
A call for tender was advertised at the end of August 1995 through the REC Local Offices and e-mail networks in 13 CEE countries. Because of the time limitation of the grant, a one-month application period was given, closing Oct. 2. The evaluation process was handled according to standard REC earmarked grant procedures. A group of five experts, including three well-known public participation experts - from a CEE country, a Western country and from REC - evaluated the proposals in a meeting on Oct. 13, 1995. Of the 21 applications reviewed, nine were awarded funds for a project period of 10 months, together totaling 88,981 ECU.
The winners of the grants were invited to participate in a Winners Meeting on Nov. 24, 1995. They were also invited to regular meetings of the REC Public Participation Working Group, where they could share experiences with a network of public participation experts.
In this brochure, the results of these grant projects are presented, with special focus on their achievements and lessons. Also shown are the different services involved and the impact of the projects, demonstrated by one case example from each.
The activities of the nine NGOs presented here - and the experiences of similar NGO efforts that have been in place for the past few years - show that there is tremendous potential in the CEE NGO community to assist citizens and NGOs in building up capacities and institutional background. This would, in turn, encourage the more efficient use of the legal and nonformal instruments for public participation. It is now up to the NGOs and the funders to keep these services alive so NGOs can fulfill their role of advising citizens and thus help build a strong civil society in the CEE region.
Project description for this brochure was prepared by Istvan Kosztolanyi, with the assistance of Magda Toth Nagy and Hajnalka Benyhe. English-language editing was completed by Reuben Stern and Paul Olchvary. Layout and desktop publishing was performed by Reuben Stern and coordinated by Sylvia Magyar.
The project was managed jointly by the Public Participation Program, the REC Initiatives Team, the Earmarked Grant Team and the REC Finance Team.
Funding for the Earmarked Grants was provided by the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, The Hague.
The REC would like to thank them all for the contribution to and support for this project and the publications.