Trust as a Bridge to Participation in Local Environmental Budget Management

Effective environmental governance at the local level requires not only technical capability but also strong institutional trust. This study explores the influence of transparency and accountability on public trust, and how that trust shapes citizen participation in environmental budget management. The research involved 300 respondents from three regions in South Sulawesi Province, namely Makassar, Bulukumba, and Gowa. Using Structural Equation Modeling with the Partial Least Squares approach, the study tested the relationships among transparency, accountability, trust, and participation. The findings show that transparency and accountability significantly improve public trust. Furthermore, trust has a strong and positive effect on public participation. Public trust also acts as a partial mediator between governance practices and participation, indicating that good governance indirectly encourages civic engagement through trust-building. Despite these statistically significant relationships, the descriptive results reveal that actual public participation remains relatively low. This suggests that structural and informational limitations may hinder broader involvement in environmental budgeting processes. The study contributes to theory by validating trust as a key mechanism that connects governance quality with participatory behavior. In practical terms, the findings emphasize the importance of enhancing access to budgetary information, reinforcing accountability structures, and creating inclusive forums for environmental decision-making. Strengthening these areas can lead to improved public confidence and more active civic participation in environmental governance at the local level.