Turning the tide: elements for the participatory development of a marine bill

Abstract

Despite its relevance, stakeholder participation in the drafting of laws, norms, and programs for the Brazilian maritime territory still needs to be improved, occurring episodically and at the local scale. To increase the engagement of different actors, thus consolidating more democratic governance practices, creating and expanding spaces and opportunities for listening, dialogue, and influence in decision-making is necessary. Since 2012, Bill 6.969/2013 - which will establish the National Policy for Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Brazilian Marine Biome (PNCMar) - has been formulated and discussed with different actors to expand the public debate on coastal and marine environment policies. The idea, which originated from organized civil society, took shape and content and became a bill articulated in the Legislative Power by the Environmentalist Parliamentary Front. At the same time, the civil society continued to be mobilized to support the proposal. Through the evaluation of the process of development of this bill, the article discusses the strategies and methods of participation adopted, pointing out its qualities (e.g., diversity of engagement methods, availability to dialogue with both favorable and contrary actors, social learning by the actors involved) and weaknesses (e.g., limited participation of the private sector and representatives of states and municipalities, as well as concentration of participants from the capital and the south and southeast regions of the country). Pointing out mechanisms to encourage social participation is essential, given the political circumstances of weakening democracy and reducing official spaces for participation. Therefore, the article also identifies and discusses six structuring elements to strengthen this and future participatory processes: leadership, diversity, engagement, learning, documentation, and negotiation.