The information behaviors of environmental planners: An exploratory study

This paper reports the findings of a study that explored the information behavior of environmental planners in Botswana, with a view to determine how it (information behavior) can be supported by an information policy. Ten environmental planners were purposively selected and interviewed to collect the data. The study found that an information policy for environmental planners should focus on the development of information skills, standards for the organization and storage, transfer and distribution of information, and the evaluation of the information to determine its quality. The lack of a relevant environmental information policy was found to be a barrier to its use. Furthermore, the study also found that the environmental planners make use of people that they know to get easy access to information. The information is found in various organizations. With regards to the environmental experts, it is their trustworthiness and willingness to share information that facilitates the use of information. For the local communities, the experience that the people have about the environment forms an essential part of the information input in environmental planning.