| The goal of this study was to evaluate three different public participation processes in forest management in Newfoundland. The objectives of the study were to determine: the satisfaction of the participants; differences in perceptions between government, industry and public participants; reasons for non-participation, and the success of the processes based on a set of evaluation criteria. I distilled the evaluation criteria from the literature on the characteristics of effective public involvement. I gathered data using qualitative methods including two surveys, and interviews with participants and non-participants. Results indicated that despite improvements to the processes between 1995 and 2002, weaknesses remained that reduced the satisfaction of participants in the study and contributed to non-participation. These included: unclear objectives, perceptions of bias, representation of interests, and acceptability of the outcomes. Recommendations included renewing efforts to create independent public advisory boards and increasing the variety of mechanisms for public input to forest management. |
