Stakeholder Dialogue as an Institutional Strategy for Sustainable Development in China : The Case of Community Environmental Roundtables
Stakeholder dialogue, as an alternative institutional strategy for environmentally and socially sustainable development, has received little attention from researchers and practitioners in developing countries such as China, even though the dialogu...
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2012
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| Online Access: | http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20110815113133 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3520 |
| Summary: | Stakeholder dialogue, as an alternative
institutional strategy for environmentally and socially
sustainable development, has received little attention from
researchers and practitioners in developing countries such
as China, even though the dialogue strategy can potentially
lead public governance to a more efficient level. This paper
first discusses the potential of stakeholder dialogue as an
institutional tool for promoting sustainable development in
China, and then presents a pilot program of stakeholder
dialogue recently developed in China -- the community
environmental roundtables. Community leaders organize
roundtable dialogues where representatives from government
agencies, companies and the local residents exchange their
views toward certain environmental issues they are facing
and discuss possible ways to resolve the issues. Informal
agreements are reached during the dialogues and implemented
after them. This community roundtable dialogue strategy has
been piloted in dozens of Chinese municipalities, addressing
various environmental issues. A survey of dialogue
participants shows that significant impacts have been
generated on environmental protection, community management,
as well as social and institutional development at the
community level. Mutual understanding and trust among the
government, companies, and local citizens are enhanced,
environmental and social conflicts are reduced, and the
public performance of various parties has been improved.
This approach is expected to help solve other conflicts and
public governance issues in China as well. The potential
challenges of institutionalizing such a program in China are
also discussed in the paper. |
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