Promoting the Participation of Indigenous Peoples in Environmental Impact Assessment: Effectiveness of Akwé: Kon Guidelines in Finland

Indigenous peoples’ participation in public policy and planning is ascribed in numerous international and national legal instruments as essential to the realisation of their self-determination. This study examines how the Akwé: Kon guidelines (AK) can promote effective indigenous peoples participati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European Scientific Journal ESJ
Main Authors: Onyango, Vincent, Wiman, Henri
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: European Scientific Institute, ESI 2021
Subjects:
Environmental Impact Assessment
Akwé
Kon Guidelines
Indigenous People
Participation
Sámi
Environmental management
Eia
Kon
Online Access:https://eujournal.org/index.php/esj/article/view/14422
https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2021.v17n20p30
Description
Summary:Indigenous peoples’ participation in public policy and planning is ascribed in numerous international and national legal instruments as essential to the realisation of their self-determination. This study examines how the Akwé: Kon guidelines (AK) can promote effective indigenous peoples participation in environmental management, especially during environmental impact assessment (EIA). Special focus is drawn on the Finnish context, home of the Sámi indigenous people. The study applies an effectiveness review package by Lee and Colley (1999), supplemented by interview and questionnaire surveys, to analyse how effective the AK have been. It was found that although they were useful in promoting further interaction of the Sámi with authorities, the AK did not address their most fundamental political and legal grievances. This leaves room for EIA policy and practice, in Finland and all other jurisdictions with indigenous peoples, to consider how they can more effectively harness the potentialities in AK.

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