{"id":1862,"date":"2022-07-26T13:06:11","date_gmt":"2022-07-26T11:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/participationfactory.com\/?p=1862"},"modified":"2022-07-26T13:06:11","modified_gmt":"2022-07-26T11:06:11","slug":"the-role-of-stakeholder-participation-in-sustainable-development-policies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/participationfactory.com\/cs\/the-role-of-stakeholder-participation-in-sustainable-development-policies\/","title":{"rendered":"The Role of Stakeholder Participation in Sustainable Development Policies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Climate change,\u00a0 water scarcity, systematic inequalities, famine – these are just a few of the challenges that humanity faces today. The consequences of some of these problems are inevitable, but that doesn’t mean the problems can’t be solved. It is necessary to look at the solution from a global perspective and take the required steps that are in accordance with the principles of sustainable development (SD).<\/span><\/p>\n

Sustainable development is based on the balance of three fundamental pillars \u2013 economic, social, and environmental. By sustainability we understand the balance of development between these pillars, i.e. between the development of the economy, the standard of living of the population, and the burden on the environment (definition from the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002). The development in one pillar should not come at the expense of others. This way the possibility to satisfy basic life needs while not reducing the diversity of nature is preserved for current and future generations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Every state must participate in ensuring that we and our descendants live well on this planet. The United Nations approved the 2030 Agenda, which contains the Sustainable Development Goals, a call to action to protect the planet and guarantee the global well-being for all people. It is a concrete plan, which offers steps to improve the overall situation in the world. It provides a global framework for international cooperation in the field of sustainable development and its economic, social, environmental and governance dimensions. In addition, individual states implement their own sustainable development strategies, within which they define sub-goals for individual areas of interest.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, sustainable development cannot be achieved by governments alone. Transparency, understood not only as sufficient information about the decision-making processes, but also as the quality and comprehensibility of data, is a necessary condition for the establishment of SD policies. The basis of these policies must be the results of high-quality scientific knowledge, but also participation, i.e. the involvement of key actors and the public that would have enough high-quality information. The participation of various stakeholders in decision-making processes has been a central principle of sustainable development since the concept was created.<\/span><\/p>\n

Participation and active dialogue with stakeholders in the sustainability management process contribute primarily to the identification of goals and targets. Stakeholders are enabled to co-produce policies and measures needed to achieve the objectives as well as identify actions needed to change unsustainable practices and behaviors. As co-creators of SD policies, stakeholders can also be involved in monitoring and reviewing processes in the form of \u2018joint guardians\u2019 and \u2018watchdogs of progress\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the benefits of stakeholder engagement, most experts name the following:<\/span><\/p>\n