Speaker
Description
In the light of social movements that started in the 1960s, individuals began to demand equality and democratic processes. With discussions on the individual's relationship with the city, participation was included in urban studies, especially in the second half of the 20th century. As the 21st century came, it is passing as an age of crises because of consecutive crises ranging from increasing climate change and environmental degradation to social and economic inequalities. While the world struggles with the crises caused by the irreversible impact of humanity on the environment, there is also a vulnerable segment of the world caused by socioeconomic inequality. Existing management systems are expected to overcome the crisis by intervening with short-term policies in the face of crises. However, the crisis experienced because of cities with complex social, economic, spatial, and environmental relations causes other crises (Şengül, 2023). To understand these complex relations and the vulnerable part of society, participation in the management system should be increased and the area of negotiation and dialogue should be kept wide. Therefore, in recent years, many studies such as the Sendai Framework have been conducted to institutionalize participation in disaster management. The focus of this study is to examine the participation perspective in the recovery process of Turkey after February 6, 2023, Kahramanmaraş earthquakes from the institutionalized participation understanding in the world. In the light of the literature on participation, the participation perspectives of various stakeholders in the post-earthquake recovery process are evaluated. From the literature, evaluation criteria for involvement have been identified to ensure success in democratic governance. The stakeholder participation plan in the Earthquake Recovery and Reconstruction in Rural Areas Project (KADİYAP), implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change with financing from the World Bank, was reviewed, and the central government's approach to managing the participation process was evaluated. The evaluation criteria from the literature were assessed based on the participation methods used by the central government, feedback from stakeholders, and information published in the report about the stakeholders participating in the plan. The process was evaluated based on the three participation principles of justice and power sharing, transparency and accountability, and inclusiveness. Inclusiveness issues such as the few women participants in some meetings were observed. Problems such as the absence of a staff member from a state institution who would be the addressee of most of the stakeholders' questions indicate that the project is limited to providing one-sided information. This participatory plan of the central administration consists of providing information only with a top-down approach. The lack of mutual dialogue with society, local institutions, and civil society organizations prevents power sharing between institutions. Finally, the fact that the complaint mechanisms developed for a more transparent process are directly under the central administration cannot be a successful application as it turns into a system where the government controls the citizens. Finally, for this plan to be interactive and participatory, it needs to create areas where stakeholders can negotiate among themselves, and it is expected to be a flexible and transformative process for the upcoming process.
References
Şengül, Hüseyin Tarık (2023). Global Crises of the Metropolis. IPA Istanbul Journal, 2023(009), pp. 8-11.
| Keywords | Disaster Management; Participation; Stakeholders; Inclusivity; Central Administration |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
