Dissemination of Environmental Information and its Effects on Stakeholders’ Decision-Making: A Comparative Study between Swedish and Polish Municipalities

• According to Action Agenda 21, which was adopted at the Rio Conference in 1992, sustainable development is a major objective for local and global development. Eco- nomic growth, good living conditions, and protection of the earth’s natural environ- ment are important to all people in the world. Th is article focuses on one aspect of sustainable development, i.e. on environmental sustainability. Research shows that local government can take a leading position in protecting the natural environment and disseminating information on it among stakeholders. However, our knowledge about the dissemination of environmental information practices among stakehold- ers is limited. Th e purpose of this research is to fi ll a gap in current knowledge, to describe and compare the practical work with dissemination of such information among stakeholders in Swedish and Polish municipalities . Th e questions to be answered are: What environmental information is collected and produced by the local government ? At what stakeholders is such information targeted ? and What eff ects does it have on decision-making by stakeholders in the investigated municipalities ? Th e study is based on state regulations, the homepages of municipal offi ces, and policy documents, offi cial reports, and semi-structured interviews with key managers responsible for the protection of the natural environment in the studied municipalities. Data were collected from late 2015 to early 2017. Th is research indicates that dissemination of environmental information has a positive eff ect on the decision-making of internal stakeholders. In both countries, the municipal authorities follow the EU recommendations, resulting in innovative work and growing environmental awareness among the municipal authorities, the residents, and other stakeholders. Improvement of the natural environment is per- ceived as “a must” for the future. Nonetheless, especially larger municipalities face challenges because the production and dissemination of environmental informa- tion is time-consuming. In the long run, however, surprisingly positive eff ects on the local protection of the natural environment appear.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Statsvetenskap -- Studier av offentlig förvaltning (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Political Science -- Public Administration Studies (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Sustainable development

Action Agenda 21

environmental sustainability

environmental information

practical work

dissemination.

sustainable development

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)