The problems that permeate the sustainability issue have immediate global and international reach, however, they are still perceived as phenomena distant from the daily life of the Brazilian population. Reversing this... [ view full abstract ]
The problems that permeate the sustainability issue have immediate global and international reach, however, they are still perceived as phenomena distant from the daily life of the Brazilian population. Reversing this situation requires the constant involvement of people in sustainability issues, through their participation in public policies. In this way, they can acquire knowledge about various sustainable possibilities for action and intervene actively in the management not only of natural resources, but also of the social relations in which they are inserted. In Brazil, the 1980s were marked by major advances in environmental legislation, which contributed, theoretically, to a process of decentralization and democratization of environmental management in the public sphere. Federal Law No. 6938/81, instituted the National Environmental Policy, considered the municipalities as part of the National Environment System - SISNAMA, attributing these responsibilities to the local environment. But it was with the Federal Constitution of 1988 that the municipalities gained more autonomy, when they were recognized as federated entities (FERREIRA,FONSECA, 2014). In this context, aiming to understand the issues that involve the socio-environmental questions, regarding citizen participation in the municipal reality, this research has as general purpose to understand if the Environment and Sanitation Council is a legitimate institution for the practice of citizen participation in local environmental management. The specific aims were to construct a theoretical reflection about participation in the environmental management of Brazilian municipal public policies and to identify and analyze citizen participation in the Municipal Council of Environment and Basic Sanitation. The methodological procedures used were content analysis and direct observation for the study case. The construction of the analysis model was based on environmental management instruments related to public policies, such as: legal, economic, administrative and institutional. In this context, we can infer that the Environment and Basic Sanitation Council of Campos dos Goytacazes is a space that allows the process of citizen participation by creating a juridical basis. It was observed during the research period the behaviour of some representatives of the Secretary of Environmental Development inhibited the participation of civil society, mentioning that the topic discussed contained a technical content and they were not qualified to argue about it. This position does not help the growth of civil society representative in enabling them to make interventions through their experiences and knowledge. The refusal of the answers to the Council's data, such as: access to reports and general information about its management, about the Municipal Environment Fund and its financing do not allow the citizen participation to supervise the apply of environmental policies in the municipality. Finally, it was noted that the Municipal Council of Environment and Basic Sanitation focused its actions in the implementation of the licensing system and collections of environmental fines. It is the responsibility of the municipal public government and civil society construct and improve dialogues and actions that assure the quality of life of all citizens, through the implementation and monitoring of public environmental policies. There is a need for the Council to be active and apply mediation process and to be transparent, as this space guarantees the strengthening of environmental awareness and should, according to the 1988 Constitution, be a space for fostering civic engagement.
Keywords: Participation. Local Environmental Management. Environment and Basic Sanitation Council. Environmental Governance
9c. Public participation, role of stakeholders
