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Directors' Statement

The following comment has been contributed in a personal capacity and does not necessarily reflect the views of the respective organisations.

The Prajateerpu: Citizens' Jury process in Andhra Pradesh, India, was facilitated by IIED and IDS, in collaboration with three Indian partner organisations, the University of Hyderabad, the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and the Andhra Pradesh Coalition in Defence of Diversity. Both IIED and IDS fully support participatory action research as a means of eliciting the perceptions and views of those affected by policy. The methodology of citizens' juries and scenario workshops is still at an experimental stage, and as with any participatory process or research approach it has strengths and drawbacks that need to be borne in mind.

While providing open access to the Prajateerpu report, we wish to inform contributors and visitors to this E-Forum discussion that we have some reservations about the way these methodologies were applied in this instance and about the objectivity and balance of the final report. Our specific concerns will be added to the E-Forum issues pages themselves, as our contribution to the open debate we have invited on this subject. We encourage you to add your ideas and opinions to this important exchange as well.

Keith Bezanson, Director, Institute of Development Studies (IDS)

Nigel Cross, Director, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)

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