Enhancing Public Participation in Local Air Pollution Assessment: A Citizen Participation Prototype from Zarqa Governorate, Jordan

It is argued in this paper that the current attempts at community involvement in environmental planning and development in Jordan have not been fully realized. This is demonstrated through implementation research, reported here, of public participation in local air pollution assessment in one of the most highly polluted spots in the country. It is concluded that the use of public participation (PP) in the environmental assessment (EA) process faces many challenges that limit the full benefits of public participation from being realized in the region, narrowly operational technical expertise; implementing officers' attitudes toward communities' capacity to understand complex problems; and the basic technical planning rational are structural impediments to effective community involvement. In addition, it is clear from the responses and surveys that the limitation of the public participation process includes factors regarding the conflict between stakeholders, which is a consequence of inadequate definition regarding the purpose of public participation and the lack of minimum performance standards. Effective public participation in this field facilitates the redefinition of the causes and effects air pollution. Fundamental to the realization of effective public participation is the recognition of its importance by planners, and role played by different forms of knowledge (such as scientific, technical, political, social, local, indigenous, bureaucratic, and historic) in this process. This study is all about trying to close the gap between regulators and civil communities with respect to public participation in EA. It is meant to build a bridge between civil society and the regulators so that the public and local communities are invited and welcomed into the PP phase of the EA process.