[sustran] Re: "The Right to Information".

[SUSTRAN Resource Centre]

Thanks for all your ideas, Eric.   I thoroughly agree that this right to 
information aspect is vital. The Mumbai Pune expressway example is part of 
a worldwide pattern. Transport planning almost everywhere is notorious for 
secrecy and for lack of transparency.

In most places there are now requirements for an Environmental Impact 
Assessment (and sometimes a Social Impact Assessment), which is often open 
to public comment. But the EIA system is often fundamentally flawed or 
easily subverted by project proponents.  Many environmental groups have 
addressed this and related issues - we should be able to plunder their 
experience to use in a campaign for more public accountability in transport 
planning. I am sure there must be a lot of materials on this around the 
place. If anyone knows of good resources that argue the case for greater 
openness, freedom of information, timely consultation with effected 
comunities, how to make sure that the EIA and SIA processes work properly, 
etc. then please let us know.  Also useful would be examples of good 
legislation or guidelines that mandate a requirement for early and 
meaningful public consultation on transport plans and projects.

I think we will make some progress if it can be demonstrated that more 
openness and public review of transport plans can actually lead to BETTER 
public policy decisions (and not necessarily policy paralysis as is feared 
by many decision-makers) . Does anyone have any examples which show this?

Going back to the specific example of the Mumbai-Pune expressway - What are 
the rules on information and public consultation in India? Are they good 
enough on paper but being ignored in this case? Or are they inadequate? 
What new rules should we be proposing as an alternative?

Do the World Bank and the other multilateral lenders and donors have any 
rules or guidelines on this already.  If they do, are they good enough? If 
not then we need to propose that they adopt some (as Eric Britton says). I  
 know they mostly require EIAs and SIAs now but do they mandate public 
input into these?  I seem to recall that in practice it depends on the 
recipient government  - in open democratic countries, the ADB and WB are 
more open and consultative. In totalitarian countries they don't push 
openness very hard.


Paul

A. Rahman Paul Barter
SUSTRAN Resource Centre
P. O. Box 11501,
50748 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel/Fax: +60 3 274 2590,  E-mail: sustran at po.jaring.my
Web: http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/2853/
The SUSTRAN Resource Centre hosts the Secretariat of SUSTRAN
(the Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia & the Pacific).

-----Original Message-----
From:	eric britton [SMTP:eric.britton at ecoplan.org]
Sent:	Sunday, December 27, 1998 2:23 AM
To:	sustran-discuss at jca.ax.apc.org
Cc:	- UTSG Mailing List; - Alt-Transp-Nomail Mailing List!
Subject:	[sustran] "The Right to Information".

Perhaps we could discuss this proposal of Sujit Patwardhan? (See his 
Sustran
message of December 23, 1998 2:33 AM. On the Stay Order Against Mumbai-Pune
Expressway)

Might this not be a great candidate for THE sustainable transportation 
issue
of 1999? With this forum and our allies, and anyone else whom we might
rustle up, we might begin by starting to develop perhaps something along 
the
lines of an International Charter written in nice calm language which we
could then start to push at the Bank, OECD, EC, until we manage to get it
both definition and momentum. Might take a few years to begin to get an
impact out of it, but in the meantime we could scare the waste matter 
(sic.)
out of all those kind folks that like to keep such things out of the public
ken and in their private interest.

Here are three good reasons to give this some thought:

1. It might be one of the most powerful practical things that we could do 
to
advance the poor beleaguered sustainability agenda in the sector.
2. We have the tools and the constituency to do the job.
3. We should have a good time doing it and end up knowing each other better
and liking each other more than we do today.

How's that for a New Year wish?


Eric Britton

PS. If we could mobilize enough high quality articles on it, we might even
convince John Whitelegg to consider building a World Transport Policy &
Practice edition around it. And of course a Web site (we'd be glad to get
that one going? And and...