Local participation, international politics, and the environment: The World Bank and the Grenada Dove

The process of locating waste disposal sites in the Eastern Caribbean count ry of Grenada illustrates important lessons in the implementation of new in ternational mandates to invite stakeholder participation in projects with e nvironmental and social impacts. This case study analyzes the participatory methods and results of the World Bank-funded project in Grenada, including an unexpected shift in the policy agenda toward habitat protection for the elusive Grenada Dove, the national bird of Grenada. We conclude that the i mpact of new requirements for stakeholder inclusion by funding agencies suc h as the World Bank and Global Environmental Facility has been palpable, bu t mixed. As the catalysts of more participatory methods, funding agencies s till must give more careful consideration to the methods by which their par ticipatory requirements are implemented. In particular they must develop mo re effective knowledge of and relationships with a broader range of stakeho lders than are routinely considered by existing methods, allow for and lear n from unexpected contingencies, and be flexible as to project goals and me thods. (C) 2001 Academic Press.