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Stakeholder perceptions of ecological policy effectiveness and citizen participation in Lake Pandin: implications for integrated environmental governance
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DOI：10.3389/fenvs.2026.1825120.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Freshwater lake restoration increasingly depends on governance systems that effectively integrate institutional capacity with community participation; however; limited empirical evidence explains how stakeholders perceive these governance mechanisms within small-lake ecosystems. This study examined stakeholders’ perceptions of ecological policy effectiveness; citizen participation; integrated environmental governance; and perceived lake ecosystem restoration in Lake Pandin; San Pablo City; Laguna; Philippines. Using a quantitative descriptive–correlational design; data were collected from 140 purposively selected stakeholders through a validated questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics; Pearson’s correlation; and multiple linear regression. The findings revealed that stakeholders perceived ecological policy effectiveness; citizen participation; integrated environmental governance; and lake ecosystem restoration as highly evident. Regression analysis demonstrated that citizen participation significantly predicted integrated environmental governance; whereas ecological policy effectiveness did not independently predict governance outcomes. At the dimensional level; community-based restoration activities; public engagement in decision-making; and policy enforcement emerged as the strongest contributors to perceived governance effectiveness. Correlation analysis further showed significant positive relationships among ecological policy effectiveness; citizen participation; integrated environmental governance; and perceived restoration outcomes; with multi-stakeholder collaboration exhibiting the strongest association. These findings indicate that effective freshwater ecosystem restoration is more strongly associated with participatory; collaborative; and adaptive governance than with institutional policy mechanisms alone. Because the study is based on stakeholder perceptions; the findings should be interpreted as assessments of governance effectiveness rather than direct ecological measurements. The study advances environmental governance scholarship by proposing a context-sensitive; perception-informed Integrated Environmental Governance Framework that integrates institutional coordination; stakeholder participation; and adaptive management to strengthen governance and support sustainable restoration in community-managed freshwater lake ecosystems.
Keywords:
citizen participation
environmental governance
stakeholder perceptions
integrated environmental governance
Lake Pandin
perceived ecological policy effectiveness
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