Forming perceptions and the limits to public participation on ocean commons

Public views of, and public participation in, the management of commons are increasingly being recommended and sought after in environmental management processes. Yet, given the limits of today’s liberal democracy, what are the weaknesses?

This article presents data from a citizens jury-inspired deliberative workshop held to tease out stakeholder views of management priorities for a section of the North Sea: the Dogger Bank. As this article reveals, the lessons learned from the Dogger Bank workshop advocate not simply what is required for managing one particular ocean commons, but also highlight some of the public participation research design failings, taking public participation in resource management further by adding to the literature and theoretical discussions on the public sphere (Habermas 1989). Analysis of the citizens jury-inspired deliberative workshop also highlights the critical issue of power inherent, yet often unacknowledged, in public participation in environmental management. Stakeholder opinions uncovered through workshop discussions also show how commons are viewed today – as an economic resource-- highlighting the trend of the mainstreaming of the commodification of the commons.