Resources Pressures and small island states

Hearing but Not Listening? A Participatory Assessment of Public Participation in Planning

“…The country comprises a land area (inclusive of all the islands that fall within the jurisdiction of the Republic of Malta) of only 316 km 2 , but has one of the highest population densities in the world (at 1,309 persons/km 2 ) (National Statistics Office, 2009a). As in other small island states, spatial planning and environmental management issues are thus compounded and magnified (Cassar, 2010;Pelling and Uitto, 2001;Sheppard and Morris, 2009 Malta provides a good case study for studying logistical and contextual constraints to public participation in the planning system (taken here to include both land use and environmental planning). There is evidence that participation mechanisms are limited in extent and effectiveness (Conrad et al, 2010;Macelli, 1990), and fail to meet public expectations (Office of the Ombudsman, 2007).…”

“…The country comprises a land area (inclusive of all the islands that fall within the jurisdiction of the Republic of Malta) of only 316 km 2 , but has one of the highest population densities in the world (at 1309 persons per km 2 ) (National Statistics Office, 2009). As in other small island states, spatial planning and environmental management issues are thus compounded and magnified (Cassar, 2010;Pelling and Uitto, 2001;Sheppard and Morris, 2009). Furthermore, Malta, which acquired its independence in 1964, has a relatively young history of planning and environmental management.…”

What can we learn from anthropological practice to conduct socially just participatory action research?

“…Landscapes that are generally associated or perceived by Maltese society as the countryside, where interaction with human activity is less apparent, become more difficult to find as development decreases or obliterates the buffer zone between neighbouring villages . As a result, tensions between different viewpoints and values relating to spatial and environmental planning and management are intensified and magnified (Cassar 2010;Cassar, Conrad, and Schembri 2008;Conrad et al 2011a: 764;Conrad 2012;Pelling and Uitto 2001;Pugh 2005aPugh , 2013Sheppard and Morris 2009).…”