Internet and teledemocracy in participatory planning of natural resources management

The widespread availability of Internet connections and the everyday aspect of the use of data networks provide many opportunities also for exploiting in planning and decision-making processes. The Internet can serve as a fast two-way channel of information. The possibility to use direct democracy via data networks so that the communication is interactive is referred to as teledemocracy. Teledemocracy is one way of adding citizens’ possibilities to participate in decision making. It enables, for instance, problems resulting from geographical insularity and long distances to be reduced in participatory planning and decision making, and the rapid registering of large numbers of opinions directly to computer memory. In this paper, an application of participatory forest planning based on information networks is presented as well as experiences obtained in developing and using the application. Also the topics of teledemocracy and the possibilities to use information networks more generally in participatory planning are discussed. It is concluded that there are good chances for applying teledemocracy in participatory forest planning, and rapid on-going development in interactive telecommunication technology continuously increases its future potential. However, taking the technical and social facts of today into account, teledemocracy cannot replace other forms and channels of public participation. There are plenty of challenges to overcome before using information networks as the only communication channel in any application of democracy. Participation from afar in participatory forest planning does not need to compete or do away with direct participation, but instead it can be used to support and supplement traditional participatory and participation channels.