Precaution in public: the social perception of the role of science and values in policy making

Abstract

This article presents the results of a study of public perception recently completed in Spain which questioned citizens about their views on the precautionary principle, the role of science in policy making, as well as their level of trust in science. The results show that Spanish citizens, by a significant margin, consider that scientists may be influenced by economic interests, that values play a key role in policy making, and that policy should be guided by precaution. Two groups were identified, one with a moderate and the other one with a more stringent interpretation of precaution. The results indicate that public policies that do not sufficiently take into account precaution and exclude values from decision making are likely to encounter resistance among many citizens.

When peer-reviewed publications are not enough! Delivering science for natural resource management

“…Some theorists suggest that an expert-driven decision model, which prevails in federal land management agencies, protects against decisions based purely on values or emotions made by uniformed publics (Steel and Weber, 2001;Munnichs, 2004;Sekloca, 2010). By contrast, those espousing more participatory decision-making suggest that not including public participation in natural resource management ignores local knowledge and social values, thus lowering public support for resulting action (Fischer, 1993;Bliss, 2000;Steelman, 2001;Lujan and Todt, 2007). In this context, the origins and needs of participatory research come into focus.…”

Towards Innovation Democracy? Participation, Responsibility and Precaution in Innovation Governance.

“…Instead of wishful thinking about the quality of risk information, they prioritise more humble measures to consider alternatives, explore uncertainties, maximise learning (Wynne 1992) and promote adaptability (Fisher et al 2002) in careful, reversible, step-by-step implementation (Lujan and Todt 2007). Where there is uncertainty over probabilities, potential hazards do remain relevant in their own right, with particular care necessary where they might be irreversible (CEC 2000).…”

Percepciones de los ciudadanos catalanes acerca de la participación del público y los expertos en las controversias sobre el agua

“…Dicho fenó-meno parece estar acompañado de una disminución de la legitimidad de los especialistas. Dadas sus relaciones percibidas con los poderes político-económicos y el carácter ideológico de su intervención ya identificado por otros autores (por ejemplo, Espluga, 2004, Lujan y Todt, 2007, o Carvalho, 2007, los entrevistados manifiestan una marcada desconfianza en la posibilidad de que el criterio de dichos expertos sea utilizado como único argumento para cerrar las controversias.…”