End of Commitment Report – Building a greener Peñalolén

Name of Evaluator

José Hernández Bonivento

Email

[email protected]

Member Name

Peñalolén, Chile

Action PlanAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... Title

Action plan – Peñalolén, Chile, 2021 – 2024

CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action...

Building a greener Peñalolén

Title

Building a greener Peñalolén

Action

To design a work plan with the different actors of the community.
This work should incorporate the following elements:

• Confronting the climate crisis, protecting the environment, and promoting local sustainable development requires a joint, empowered work with the different actors of the municipality
• Incorporate and promote an environmental approach in territorial planning instruments to reinforce the sustainable development of the municipality.
• Co-create instruments and environmental regulations at the local level.
• Encourage participation and access to information within the framework of the environmental impact assessment of the projects carried out in the municipality, in order to guarantee information and active participation of citizens.
• The Citizen Environmental Participation Program promotes local environmental educationAccountability within the public education system is key to improving outcomes and attainment, and accountability is nearly impossible without transparent policies and opportunities for participation ... in order to achieve cooperative and joint work with the community.
• Strengthen local environmental institutions to better manage sustainable development at local level.

Problem

In the 21st century, there is no doubt that one of the greatest challenges in national and international politics is caring for the environment and addressing climate change. To deal with this problem, one of the most important axes is how to build a public policy that, with criteria of efficacy and relevanceAccording to the OGP Articles of Governance, OGP commitments should include a clear open government lens. Specifically, they should advance at least one of the OGP values: transparency, citizen partic..., has democratic legitimacy. In this sense, the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public ParticipationGiving citizens opportunities to provide input into government decision-making leads to more effective governance, improved public service delivery, and more equitable outcomes. Technical specificatio... and Access to JusticeAccessible justice systems – both formal and informal – ensure that individuals and communities with legal needs know where to go for help, obtain the help they need, and move through a system tha... More in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (Escazú 2018), sheds lights on the way in which we must face environmental problems, where the emphasis is in the construction of an institutionality that commits society as a whole, that is, public and private institutions and civil society.

1.1 What was the overall level of progress in the commitment implementation at the time of this assessment?

complete

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment underwent significant changes in terms of greater clarity regarding the milestones to be achieved, following the recommendations made in the design review of the Action Plan. The new milestones are clear to follow, and the Municipality’s report is clear on the achievements of each of them, with verifiers that show the actions taken. From the six milestones presented in the original Action Plan, the report shows seven activities with their verifiers. The interviews revealed that this commitment was very well evaluated by public servants and the citizens. Part of this commitment was highlighted as a good participatory practice by the Chilean Government’s Undersecretary of Regional Development (SUBDERE).

Provide evidence that supports and justifies your answer:

Buenas prácticas de participación ciudadana en la gestión municipal
Rendición de Cuentas Primer Plan de Acción de Gobierno Abierto

1.2 Describe the main external or internal factors that impacted implementation of this commitment and how they were addressed (or not).

This commitment was based on different programs that were already implemented by the Department of Environmental Education, which has also been highly valued by the community, so the work carried out was an extension of the actions already planned. This helped ensure that the actions were not only valued but also supported by the community.

1.3 Was the commitment implemented as originally planned?

All of the commitment milestones were implemented as planned

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The milestones were modified to make them more specific, which made it easier to review, but the broad goals established in the Action Plan were maintained. Three milestones of the original commitment (No. 1, 2, and 6) were translated into four new milestones, increasing their specificity:

• A focus on environmental policies in the different units of the municipality
• Two new participatory mechanisms (the Environmental Communal Committee and the Environmental Territorial Council),
• The implementation of an accountability exercise in environmental activities.

The other three original milestones were retained, based on access to information on local projects evaluated by the National Environmental Evaluation System, the renewal of municipal environmental norms, and the “Active Citizenship” program, which focuses on environmental education in municipal schools.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Rendición de Cuentas Primer Plan de Acción de Gobierno Abierto

2.1.1. – Did the government disclose more information; improve the quality of the information (new or existing); improve the value of the information; improve the channels to disclose or request information or improve accessibility to information?

Yes

Degree of result:

Major

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

The milestone No. 2, based on a platform that allows neighbors from Peñalolén to follow the infrastructure projects presented to the National Environmental Evaluation System (SEA), increases the channels of information and improves the accesibility of it, as the citizens can follow the state of advance of every project that, by law, is mandated to have a certification from the SEA in the commune.

The platform is open to everybody on this link.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Rendición de Cuentas Primer Plan de Acción de Gobierno Abierto

2.1.2. – Did the government create new opportunities to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation inform or influence decisions; improve existing channels or spaces to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation/ inform or influence decisions; create or improve capabilities in the government or the public aimed to improve how the government seeks feedback from citizens/enables participation/ or allows for the public to inform or influence decisions?

Yes

Degree of result:

Major

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

Three milestones of this commitment were based on participatory mechanisms:

• The updating of local regulations on environmental issues (No. 3)
• The Environmental Communal Committee (No. 4)
• The Environmental Territorial Council (No. 5).

The No. 3 milestone was based on a survey to prioritize items on the new municipal ordinance on environmental issues. The No. 4 milestone focused on participatory meetings with different civil society organizations. The No. 5 milestone was an annual meeting held in 2024. In the Municipality’s report, as confirmed by fieldwork and interviews, the experience was very well-received, but it also revealed a significant challenge: the municipality’s high number of participatory meetings makes it difficult to establish new participatory institutions within a highly participatory commune.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Actas Comite Ambiental Comunitario
Resultados encuesta normativa del agua ordenanza
Rendición de Cuentas Primer Plan de Acción de Gobierno Abierto

2.1.3 Did the government create or improve channels, opportunities or capabilities to hold officials answerable to their actions?

Yes

Degree of result:

Marginal

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

Milestone No. 6 was based on an accountability exercise on environmental programs. The exercise was actually one event with the presentation of the actions made by the Department of Environmental Education, which can be understood as an accountability action. Nevertheless, it was a single presentation, so it did not become an institutionalized activity; instead, it can be seen as an exercise in access to information rather than an accountability activity.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Reporte anual del departamento 2023

2.1.4 Other Results

Yes

Degree of result:

Major

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

Milestone No. 1 focused on obtaining environmental certifications for the various units within the municipality. It seems like an interesting action to promote environmental consciousness inside the municipality, in line with the commitment’s goals of promoting sustainable development in the commune.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Proximo pasos Oficina Verde 2023

2.2 Did the commitment address the public policy problem that it intended to address as described in the action plan?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

All the activities and milestones were focused on environmental issues and the promotion of sustainable development of the commune. It has been awarded as a good practice in participation, and it has developed strategies to create awareness of environmental issues among citizens in the commune, while creating participatory activities that enhance citizen engagement among the younger inhabitants of the commune.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Buenas practicas de participacion ciudadana en la gestion municipal

3. Provide at least one lesson or reflection relating to the implementation of this commitment. It can be the identification of key barriers to implementation, an unexpected help/hindrance, recommendations for future commitments, or if the commitment should be taken forward to the next action plan.

The main lesson is to continue the “Active Citizen” strategy, which has been recognized as a good and strong practice nationwide. At the same time, it would be beneficial to reconsider the number of participatory mechanisms to avoid overwhelming the active civil society of the commune.