On the Limits of Liberalism in Participatory Environmental Governance: Conflict and Conservation in Ukraine's Danube Delta

Environmental governance strategies based on liberal participatory management may not be universally effective, particularly when introduced in contexts with non-liberal political ontologies. A study of Ukraine's Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve reveals that conflicts and scandals within the reserve were influenced by cultural practices such as rumour, denunciation, and prayer, which diverge from Western liberal assumptions about politics. The research highlights that the World Bank's assessment of the reserve's failure to implement participatory management overlooked these ontological differences, suggesting that environmental management must account for diverse political frameworks rather than assuming universal applicability of liberal models.

Richardson, T. (2015). On the Limits of Liberalism in Participatory Environmental Governance: Conflict and Conservation in Ukraine’s Danube Delta. Development and Change, 46(3), 415–441. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12156