Title: Public participation in environmental permitting: the Finnish approach and its effects

Authors: Li Jiang; Xianglin He; Erkki Hiltunen

Addresses: Ecological Construction Research Group, Faculty of Marxism, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China; Faculty of Technology, University of Vaasa, FI-65101 Vaasa, Finland ' Ecological Construction Research Group, Faculty of Marxism, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China ' Faculty of Technology, University of Vaasa, FI-65101 Vaasa, Finland

Abstract: In response to global environmental issues, environmental governance has received increased attention. Environmental permitting as a key instrument has contributed to mitigating industrial environmental impacts, facilitating its compliance with environmental requirements and promoting technological innovation. Environmental permitting requires transparent and broad public participation, since public engagement in environmental issues is closely correlated to the development of civil society. Finland, as a country successful in the area of environmental protection, has the advanced mechanism of public participation in environmental permitting employed in all sectors of society. However, current literature indicates fragmented information available about the Finnish approach and the effects of public participation in environmental permitting. The exploratory study firstly discloses the Finnish integrated environmental permit systems. Subsequently, this paper illustrates Finnish public participation practices including the opportunities for this activity, its communication patterns, positive effects, as well as its side effects. Finally, concluding remarks are put forward.

Keywords: public participation; environmental permitting; environmental protection; environmental impact; environmental pollution; Finland; environmental governance; public engagement; environmental permit systems; environmental permits; communication patterns.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2015.072108

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2015 Vol.57 No.1/2, pp.1 - 16

Received: 30 Jun 2014
Accepted: 10 Mar 2015
Published online: 30 Sep 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article