Impressions of public opinion on environmental licensing and popular participation in decisions regarding the design and implementation of public management practices

Abstract

The involvement of society in environmental management, when allowed, encourages the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of environmental policies. The public hearings that make up the environmental licensing process and that represent a space for direct popular participation have proven to be inefficient. This work aims to capture the impressions of public opinion regarding popular participation in decision-making, both about public practices of environmental management and about environmental licensing. The data were collected in the second half of 2020 through a questionnaire prepared through Google Forms and disseminated on social networks according to a virtual sampling technique called “snowball.” The sample was composed of 59 individuals, mostly from Rio Grande do Sul (88%). The respondents feel excluded from the licensing process and the actions to protect the environment where they live, showing interest in being more participatory, both by adding information about the region where they live and by assisting in enforcement within their neighborhoods. Most of the public consulted considers that the dissemination of information about public actions and the need to acquire knowledge about the functionalities of environmental licensing are essential to ensure a more effective participation of the population in the formulation of environmental protection policies. It is concluded that direct participative democracy is still deficient due to the low adhesion of the population, whose engagement depends on factors related to environmental education, the availability of information, and the simplification of forms of democratic participation that are closer to the citizen.