Market lead for environment & planning at GHD New Zealand, Stephen Douglass, argues that public participation looks to be a likely cost of the proposed COVID-19 Recovery (Fast Track Consenting) Bill, which aims to expedite consenting under the Resource Management Act.
Whilst the recovery bill in New Zealand has yet to be passed, if it is, large infrastructure projects may be consented without the public being able to participate.
But this doesn’t mean that we should exclude the public from engaging with a project. How the infrastructure sector navigates the next few years, regardless of these fast track processes, will ultimately reflect on how we have collectively risen to the challenge, and our responsibility to ensure that sustainable management remains at the core of what we do.
The environment is close to many Kiwi’s hearts. Without a say in projects that could affect their neighbourhoods, homes, and lives, the infrastructure sector may find itself under more scrutiny from an understandably sceptical public.
Some mistrust is inevitable, at least initially, but it doesn’t have to remain that way. As professionals, we have an opportunity (and obligation) to maintain trust, and reassure the communities that these projects exist to serve. So how do we do it?
Open the door with data
Like so many aspects of this information age, the answer lies in data. Fast-tracked projects will require robust environmental compliance monitoring and reporting, and we can use this information to communicate with communities on the environmental impacts of local projects.
Digital technology like web-based apps, video streaming, and drone footage makes environmental information easily accessible and sharable. You’ll need to gather this for your projects’ management plans anyway and reporting requirements, so why not make it available to interested members of the public? Doing so will create transparency, which helps to build trust. It can also open up opportunities for dialogue, which will lead to a sense of involvement, even if people haven’t been consulted beforehand.
Speak their language
While some members of the public will have a comprehensive understanding of environmental data and a desire for details, many others won’t. It’s important to present information in ways that can be easily digested, while also enabling those who wish to drill down into the details.
Sharing information in relation to your projects’ performance against specific compliance criteria will provide those less scientifically minded with a gauge on what’s acceptable. Simple visuals, like a “traffic light” system, can help people understand what impacts your project is (or isn’t) having on the surrounding environment at a glance.
For many, simply knowing this data is available will be enough. But others, like special interest groups, will want to know more, which is why we recommend that detailed information be accessible and interactive. Those after a simple snapshot should be able to find high-level information easily, while the more numerically driven should be able to drill down into information like water quality or air discharge conditions, or focus on specific locations that they have a keen interest in.
Public consultation on fast-tracked projects might be out, but transparency, trust, and communication, as they always should be, are still in.
We can deliver lasting community benefit while protecting our precious environment, and digital technology means we can invite others into these conversations. Transparent, accessible environmental information will build trust and involve communities, something that we should be striving for regardless of consenting conditions.
This article originally appeared on Environment analyst, written by Stephen Douglass Market Lead – Environment & Planning Technical Director – Environment
