Suchergebnisse

"Anna Berti Suman investigates the development of the right to water and of water law in the Latin American context. By examining the significance of Latin American constitutional evolution, doctrine, and jurisprudence, the author illustrates the Latin American contribution in stimulating the social, political, and economic debate on the right to water, regionally and worldwide. Through an overview on the right to water in Latin American constitutions and of the main Latin American water management systems, Berti Suman argues that an analysis of the right to water has to take account of its application in specific contexts. The intrinsic connection between the right to water and the role of the private sector is examined through topical insights into the highly privatized Chilean water services. In the conclusion, the relevance of the lessons learnt from the Latin American experience for the global debate on the right to water is convincingly proved."--Back cover

This contribution discusses the potential and challenges of maps' data visualization as a practice suitable to enhance social and legal accountability in the governance of environmental hazards affecting public health. The focus is on the 'Global South' and, specifically, on the haze pollution that Southeast Asia is experiencing due to illegal forest fires. The haze is discussed as a pressing public health concern for the region (Koplitz, S.N. et al., 2016). It is shown how efforts to tackle the haze have been hindered by a lack of reliable evidence on the fires' exact location and on land ownership, worsened by an uncooperative attitude of governments and companies. This status-quo characterized by a lack of data, in certain instances, or by a denied access to the available data, in other cases, is the problem this contribution addresses. The chapter zooms in on creative solutions that arose from the bottom level, namely that of non-state haze mapping initiatives that 'bypassed' the institutional system. Desk researches on the haze impacts and on theories on the use of bottom-up produced evidence in environmental risk governance are combined with web analysis and with qualitative research based on: observations performed at Greenpeace International, and targeted communications with stakeholders and organizations on the ground. This contribution inspects the potential of such maps to 'make visible politically masked risks' by filling institutional gaps, to enhance social accountability by triggering social agency at the individual and collective levels, and to even promote legal accountability. Such arguments are supported by NGOs' reports (e.g. Greenpeace, 2016) and by authoritative legal documents granting relevant rights, as the right to access environmental information, and by academic literature vocal on the topic (e.g. Lee, 2005). The knowledge gap this contribution aims at filling is identified in the scarce understanding of the real potential of these bottom-up haze maps, whose social utility and even legal admissibility is not plain. This discussion contributes to the debate triggered by interest groups, NGOs and local communities on the need for alternative and more transparent ways for tackling the haze in Southeast Asia. In the conclusion, recommendations are formulated on how to address the challenges posed by these alternative mapping methods and release the full potential of these bottom-up produced maps as an invaluable tools for promoting a more accountable governance of the haze risk.

Abstract
Citizen-gathered evidence (CGE) gathered by individuals organized in collectives have the potential to demonstrate environmental and social wrongdoings in court. We identify (collective) agency and resistance in how individuals and communities that have been exposed to socio-environmental stressors turn to gather CGE. We explore the modes through which people gather scientific data, produce CGE, alert authorities to environmental harm, and the methods by which data can be shared with communities, beginning with the case studies of civic environmental monitoring addressing coal ash pollution in North Carolina. We analyze the case studies through a theoretical lens built on (1) the theory of civic monitoring "as resistance;" (2) the argument that CGE can embody "collective intelligence;" and (3) the concept of "crowd science" through a decentralized yet coordinated network. In the first part of the article, we introduce the case studies. Then, we illustrate our theoretical frame as applied to the analysis of the cases. We discuss the cases and in particular the CGE at issue through the prism of the frame. We demonstrate how CGE can be valuable not only for civil society and civic organizations, but also for competent authorities. In our conclusion, we identify critical junctures of our case studies, such as that of "knowledge crowdsourcing" to demand justice that triggers the government to take action and the existence of a "coordinated" yet decentralized crowd to capture the full extension of the problem. Lastly, we outline the limitations of our study, a future research agenda, and still open questions.

AbstractRome is a complex metropolis. The city faces the challenge of imagining and shaping an inclusive and sustainable future for its inhabitants. On several occasions, city policies and interventions have not met the goal of preserving environmental resources. For their part, the inhabitants of Rome tend to doubt the ability of institutions to take care of the city's resources. We focus on civic environmental monitoring led by the local independent association A Sud, aimed at assessing the environmental status of two of the city's rivers. From a review of applicable literature on governance, environmental and social justice and climate urbanism, we build a theoretical frame to guide our analysis. We inquire how civic monitoring in a complex city can benefit urban resource governance and foster urban transitions. We also explore the extent to which these initiatives have the potential to inform or have actually informed the scientists and policymakers responsible for designing city adaptations. Our analysis demonstrates that citizen-gathered data can enrich the scientific knowledge base and trigger claims for interventions, bringing in information on local issues often overlooked by competent institutions. The initiatives also improved individual and collective attitudes towards the city and its resources, stimulating a sense of care and a watchful citizenship.

The aim of this workshop was to ask potential end-users of the citizens' information pack on legal and ethical issues around ICTs (i.e. citizens and citizens' groups) the following questions: What is your knowledge of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and what actions have you taken in response to these regulations? What challenges are you experiencing in ensuring the protection and security of your project data, and compliance with the GDPR, within existing data management processes/systems? What information/tools/resources do you need to overcome these challenges? What are the best formats/channels for receiving, sharing and acting upon this information? What is the most appropriate structure/format(s) for the citizens' information pack?

ICTs, personal data, digital rights, the GDPR, data privacy, online security… these terms, and the concepts behind them, are increasingly common in our lives. Some of us may be familiar with them, but others are less aware of the growing role of ICTs and data in our lives - and the potential risks this creates. These risks are even more pronounced for vulnerable groups in society. People can be vulnerable in different, often overlapping, ways, which place them at a disadvantage to the majority of citizens; Table 3 in this guide presents some of the many forms and causes of vulnerability. As a result, vulnerable people need greater support to navigate the digital world, and to ensure that they are able to exercise their rights. This guide explains where such support can be found, and also answers the following questions: What are the main ethical and legal issues around ICTs for vulnerable citizens? Who is vulnerable in Europe? How do issues around ICTs affect vulnerable people in particular? This guide is a resource for members of vulnerable groups, people who work with vulnerable groups, and citizens more broadly. It is also useful for data controllers who collect data about vulnerable citizens. While focused on citizens in Europe, it may be of interest to people in other parts of the world. It forms part of the Citizens' Information Pack produced by the PANELFIT project, and is available in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.