Abstract

MULBRY, Rachel. Impactful environmental data: The role of local government in participatory environmental monitoring. Letras Verdes [online]. 2016, n.20, pp.44-67. ISSN 1390-6631.  https://doi.org/10.17141/letrasverdes.20.2016.2195.

While recognizing the importance of public participation in environmental matters, this article seeks to understand the implications of the participation of other actors - specifically local government entities - within participatory environmental monitoring processes in Ecuador. Literature on the topic often emphasizes the role of non-governmental groups, overshadowing the connection between the production of environmental data and the circumstances that facilitate its use to inform public policy. The article concludes that the participation of local governments in environmental monitoring can help to improve project design, implementation and the use of the data to shape local decisions. However, factors like the intensity and timing of local government participation, as well as the duration of monitoring, can limit the potential impact. An analysis of four participatory monitoring projects in Ecuador highlights the successes facilitated by local government involvement, as well as the challenges, including the sustainability of monitoring projects and the relevance of various methods of data interpretation to the local contexts. Situating these four cases within an international context that increasingly values transparency and participation serves toconfirm the need for more research on the dynamics that facilitate the production and use of environmental data in ways that produce a sustained local-level impact.

Keywords : monitoring; participation; transparency; local government; Ecuadorian Amazon.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )