Consensus building and sustainability: Some lessons from an adverse local experience in Greece

Sapountzaki, K; Wassenhoven, L

dc.contributor.author	Sapountzaki, K	en
dc.contributor.author	Wassenhoven, L	en
dc.date.accessioned	2014-03-01T01:22:01Z
dc.date.available	2014-03-01T01:22:01Z
dc.date.issued	2005	en
dc.identifier.issn	1387585X	en
dc.identifier.uri	https://dspace.lib.ntua.gr/xmlui/handle/123456789/16441
dc.subject	Communicative planning	en
dc.subject	Communicative rationality	en
dc.subject	Consensus building	en
dc.subject	Greece	en
dc.subject	Participation	en
dc.subject	Sustainability	en
dc.subject	Water policies in the Mediterranean region	en
dc.subject	Water shortage	en
dc.subject.other	local participation	en
dc.subject.other	participatory approach	en
dc.subject.other	sustainability	en
dc.subject.other	water management	en
dc.subject.other	Dodecanese	en
dc.subject.other	Eurasia	en
dc.subject.other	Europe	en
dc.subject.other	Greece	en
dc.subject.other	Leros	en
dc.subject.other	Southern Aegean	en
dc.subject.other	Southern Europe	en
dc.title	Consensus building and sustainability: Some lessons from an adverse local experience in Greece	en
heal.type	journalArticle	en
heal.identifier.primary	10.1007/s10668-004-2376-0	en
heal.identifier.secondary	http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10668-004-2376-0	en
heal.publicationDate	2005	en
heal.abstract	The paper focuses on the example of a local island community in Greece, to illustrate the difficulties of effective consensus building, in support of sustainable policies. In the first section the issue of sustainability and the importance of participation are discussed, before moving to a brief outline of the nature of participation and its sources since the 1960s. It follows an analysis of the epistemological framework of consensus building process which is considered as the most integrated and sophisticated version of participatory planning. This analysis serves as a background for judging the appropriateness of consensus building for the resolution of an environmental problem harassing a Greek island community. It is about the problem of water availability and management in the small Aegean island of Leros. The paper shows how illegal practices in the use of water, administrative fragmentation and confusion over knowledge of the problem and its solutions lead to divisions in the stakeholder groups and to obstacles in the way of participation. The intrinsic problems embedded in Greek (and probably not alone) society and political culture, which prevent collective action and participation, account in part for the anticipated risk of unwelcome, illegitimate outcomes of a potential consensus building process. Nevertheless, if communicative planning is to gain universal acceptance, it should first resolve some critical theoretical and practical shortcomings related to its normative, ethical and philosophical assumptions. © Springer 2005.	en
heal.journalName	Environment, Development and Sustainability	en
dc.identifier.doi	10.1007/s10668-004-2376-0	en
dc.identifier.volume	7	en
dc.identifier.issue	4	en
dc.identifier.spage	433	en
dc.identifier.epage	452	en