%0 Journal Article
%T Participative environmental management and social capital in Poland
%A A. Hunka
%A W. T. de Groot
%J Social Geography (SG) & Discussions (SGD)
%D 2011
%I 
%R 10.5194/sg-6-39-2011
%X Eastern European countries, such as Poland, often illustrate social capital studies. Upon entering the European Union, social capital in Poland was seen as a problem in implementing new regulations, particularly in the field of environmental policy. Equally important, environmental issues often present a high degree of complexity ¨C and European legislation requires multi-stakeholder involvement in decision-making processes. Thus, the dilemma: on the one hand, there is a demand to engage and consult many actors; on the other hand, the actors function in administrative culture with a ubiquitous top-down approach taken by institutional decision makers. This paper attempts to address the problem from the perspective of social capital theory. An overview of administrative culture and examples of decision-making processes shows the way decisions are currently made. We also propose a way to achieve more participative environmental management.
%U http://www.soc-geogr.net/6/39/2011/sg-6-39-2011.html