Toronto Board of Health's Commitment to Accessible and Effective Community Participation

A community can serve as a force that pushes national parks to realize sustainable development, while community participation is critical to the relationship between national park protection and community development. Therefore, the present study explored the community’s participation in the construction of Wuyishan National Park (hereinafter referred to as the Park) by means of case analysis and qualitative research. The research outcomes showed that the community’s participation was led by the authorities, which is a typical example of “passive participation”. In addition, the governing body of the Park and its communities did not form a sound organization that enabled them to manage and protect the Park in concerted efforts. In other words, they did not work well together, and had not yet established an effective community participation mechanism. Moreover, there were three major problems about the community’s participation in the Park’s governance: The community lacked the ability to take part in it, its participation took limited forms, and it displayed little initiative in the participation. To solve these problems, the present research proposes four mechanisms to improve community participation regarding technological, structural, social, and institutional resilience, i.e., intelligent guidance mechanism, nested organization mechanism, social mobilization mechanism, and institutional guarantee mechanism, respectively.

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Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Committees: reflections on strengthening community health governance at scale in India

BMJ Global Health ◽

10.1136/bmjgh-2017-000681 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 3 (Suppl 3) ◽

pp. e000681 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Rajani Ved ◽

Kabir Sheikh ◽

Asha S George ◽

Raman VR

Keyword(s):

Community Health ◽

Community Participation ◽

Financial Support ◽

Institutional Support ◽

Scaling Up ◽

Health Governance ◽

Geographic Scale ◽

Effective Community ◽

Administrative Structures ◽

Village Health

India’s National Health Mission constituted Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Committees (VHSNCs) as a key mechanism for community health governance. Health committees provide citizens with the opportunity to shape health systems and policies. Yet much remains to be learnt on how best to sustain health committees as vehicles for community health governance at scale. This paper reflects on the authors’ experiences of introducing revised guidelines and an institutional support package for VHSNCs in two pilot settings in India and outlines lessons we learnt for sustaining community health governance at geographic scale. We describe the importance of ensuring norms for equitable participation, aligning committee rules with existing forms of decentralised government and providing key supports in terms of engaging NGOs as key implementation facilitators. Integration with rigid and unresponsive government administrative structures however remains a persistent challenge for scaling up health committees. With sustained financial support and strategic deployment of key personnel, VHSNCs could pave the way for more equitable and effective community participation in health governance at scale.

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EIA Practices in the Natural Gas Extraction Sector in Tanzania: Does Local Community Contribution Matter?

Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management ◽

10.1142/s1464333219500157 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (03) ◽

pp. 1950015

Author(s):

Iddi Mwanyoka ◽

Will-Elimina Selestine ◽

Said Nuhu

Keyword(s):

Natural Gas ◽

Community Participation ◽

Local Community ◽

Household Survey ◽

Gas Extraction ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Community Contribution ◽

Effective Community ◽

Natural Gas Extraction ◽

Document Review

Community participation is an important element for implementation of various development projects including Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes. However, involvement of the local community in contributing to the EIA processes is minimal. This paper sought to explore local community contribution in the EIA practices in the natural gas extraction sector in Tanzania. Household survey, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and document review were employed in this study. Findings revealed that the majority of respondents have inadequate understanding of the EIA process and therefore undermine its significance, their role and contribution towards the exercise. Procedures for engaging the community were also lacking according to standard measure practices. Various factors emanating from policy implementers, EIA consultants and the community were attributed to low participation. Views and opinions of participants were not considered during implementation of the gas exploration and extraction project which left communities dissatisfied with implementers and practitioners. Therefore, implementation of the EIA policy in regard to procedures should be emphasised to ensure adherence for smooth and effective community participation in the EIA processes. This will guarantee respect for community contribution and mainstreaming of suggestions in the implementation of natural gas exploration and extraction projects to avoid adverse effects and reduce on mitigation consequences.

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Community participation framework for post-disaster resettlement and its practical application in Pakistan

Disaster Prevention and Management An International Journal ◽

10.1108/dpm-05-2018-0161 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 27 (5) ◽

pp. 604-622 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Ali Jamshed ◽

Irfan Ahmad Rana ◽

Masood Ali Khan ◽

Nikhil Agarwal ◽

Ahsan Ali ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Participation ◽

Community Involvement ◽

Planning Process ◽

Provincial Government ◽

Primary Data ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Content Type ◽

Effective Community ◽

Local Ngo ◽

Post Disaster

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a practical framework for community participation in post-disaster resettlement. Design/methodology/approach The proposed framework has been tested in two model villages (MVs) of Punjab, Pakistan. Primary data were collected through household surveys, focus group discussions and expert interviews. A survey with 67 households was conducted for obtaining qualitative data regarding community participation in post-disaster resettlement. Findings The first MV (Ittehad MV) was resettled by the local NGO, and the second (Basti Meera Mullan) by the provincial government. Results indicate that community participation significantly varied in selected MVs. NGOs have achieved positive realizations due to effective community involvement in resettlement efforts, whereas the governmental approach lacked in proactive community participation. Practical implications This framework can be used for other disasters, by refining and incorporating disaster relevant components. This research will be highly useful for disaster managers, private developers and NGOs engaged in resettling disaster-affected population. Social implications The proposed framework can help disaster-affected communities to resettle according to their terms. This can only be attained if affected communities will proactively participate in resettlement planning process. Originality/value This original framework is exclusively designed to attain sustainability for post-disaster settlement through community participation.

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