PUTTING AN END
TO ENVIRONMENTAL SECRECY
10 March 1998
UN/ECE reaches agreement
on new environmental rights convention
"Obstacles to public access to environmental
information and to the public's involvement in decision-making
are everywhere. Industry and government agencies may collect
environmental data, but they either do not report them to the
public or report them when they're out-of-date. Making your voice
heard in the decision-making process is even harder," according to Mr Kaj Bärlund, Director at the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE).
UN/ECE has negotiated a regional
convention on environmental rights to guarantee access to
environmental information, public participation in environmental
decision-making, and access to justice in order to protect the
right of everyone to live in a healthy environment. Reconciling
the different attitudes towards public participation and access
to information prevailing in countries as diverse as Norway, the
United Kingdom, Kazakhstan or the Russian Federation was never
going to be easy. But after many months of intense and arduous
negotiations, a final agreement was reached at the eleventh hour.
The new convention is now ready for adoption and signature at the
fourth Ministerial Conference "Environment
for Europe" in Århus, Denmark, next June.
The involvement of non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) in the negotiations has been without
precedent. As full-fledged participants, they have added a new
dimension to the negotiations and a fresh point of view. They
have helped to give the convention the shape that it has today.
A Coherent Combination
In a world of conflicts of interest,
complex problems, and diverging scientific analyses of the
environment, it is becoming increasingly difficult to implement a
balanced environmental policy, which takes account of all the
aspects. Therefore, and also for the sake of our environment,
members of the public who are interested and concerned should
have access to the information on which environmental decisions
and policies are made.
Imagine, for instance, that a government
has to choose between, on the one hand, building a new motorway
or railway so that traffic can flow smoothly and travelling
becomes easier and, on the other, protecting a beautiful
landscape. Thanks to the UN/ECE convention, the public will have
access to the information on which the government´s choice is
based, and above all to the decision-making procedure itself, so
that it can influence the final decision. Maybe the government in
the capital has not been fully briefed about all the aspects of
the case. Is the government familiar with the local way of life?
Maybe the inhabitants prefer to put up with longer journeys so
long as the natural beauty of their area can be preserved.
The convention also deals with
genetically modified organisms. Producers may think that
labelling genetically modified tomatoes is enough, but the
average consumer may have different ideas and want these products
taken off the supermarket shelves altogether.
The three pillars of the convention --
access to information, public participation and access to justice
-- form a coherent unit. It is widely recognized that public
participation in decision-making processes makes for better
decisions and facilitates their application. It gives the public
the possibility to express its concerns, and enables the public
authorities to take due account of such concerns. Access to
information is a prerequisite for a well-informed public and is
needed to enable participation; but it is also a way of raising
environmental awareness and understanding. The right to have
recourse to administrative or judicial proceedings to challenge
the authorities' decisions is necessary to make sure that the
access to information and the public participation in
decision-making are effective. The convention guarantees these
rights to the public regardless of nationality, citizenship or
domicile. NGOs are granted similar rights.
A Unique Convention
The new convention -- more so than
traditional environmental conventions -- spells out the public
authorities' obligations towards the public at large, and not
only towards other Parties to the convention. It is more
intersectoral in nature, as it covers all environmental fields,
such as water, air, soil, chemicals, human health, land-use
planning, living conditions, etc. (see annex below). Furthermore,
the provisions of the new convention are more detailed and lay
down specific requirements in terms of openness and transparency. "In fact, it sets an example for strengthening
democracy throughout the UN/ECE region and beyond. This is the
reason why UN/ECE can say, without hesitation, that this
convention will be unique," explains Mr Kaj Bärlund.
The new convention will be open for
accession by non-UN/ECE member States as well. This is the first
time that an environmental convention drawn up under the auspices
of UN/ECE includes such a provision. The convention sets minimum
standards for access to environmental information, public
participation in environmental decision-making and access to
justice, which can also be applied beyond UN/ECE. This
stipulation conforms with the spirit of the convention, which
provides access to information, public participation and access
to justice to people regardless of their nationality, citizenship
or domicile.
For more information, please contact:
Mr Wiek SCHRAGE
Environment and Human Settlements
Division
United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe
Palais des Nations, office 415
CH - 1211 GENEVA 10
Switzerland
Telephone: (+ 41 22) 917 24 48
Fax: (+ 41 22) 907 01 07
E-mail: [email protected]
Annex
What rights does the convention grant?
Every person has the right to access
to environmental information (bar some exceptions). "Environmental" is defined broadly: it covers biological
diversity, including genetically modified organisms, the state of
human health and safety and conditions of human life, as well as
the state of the environment (e.g. air, atmosphere, soil, water).
Furthermore, economic analyses and assumptions used in
environmental decision-making are covered by the definition. The
person or organization seeking access does not have to state any
specific interest or reasons for the request, and the request
should be answered within one month. If the public authority
refuses access on the basis of one of the exemptions, reasons for
this should be stated to enable the applicant to appeal the
decision.
Not only does the public have
the right to environmental information "upon request". Public authorities also have an obligation to
collect and disseminate environmental information, and make it
widely available on the Internet, for instance. The convention
also includes an obligation to establish pollutant release and
transfer registers and inventories, as already exist in e.g. the
United States, Sweden and the Czech Republic.
For the second pillar -- public
participation -- inspiration has been sought in other
international instruments on the subject. The new convention
lists specific activities for which public participation is
obligatory. The list includes: the energy sector, metal
production, the mineral industry, the chemical industry, waste
management, major waste-water treatment plants and other water
management constructions, installations for the intensive rearing
of poultry or pigs and a range of other activities. The draft
convention lays down detailed rules on how this public
participation procedure should be carried out and which
information should be made available to the public. An important
principle is that public participation should take place at an
early stage, when the options are still open and the public can
really make a difference. One area where the convention's
provisions will be particularly welcomed by consumer groups, for
instance, is decision-making on genetically modified organisms.
The third pillar -- access to
justice -- elevates, in the view of some experts, the
convention above the usual kind of agreement among States. By
referring to justice, the new convention binds the Parties to the
idea that there are overriding general principles of law and
basic rights that need to be reflected in the convention and
taken into account in its application. Recognizing the right of
the public to appeal to higher authorities and the independent
courts ensures that the provisions of the convention are
implemented evenly, thoroughly and fairly. The provisions in the
draft convention oblige all Parties to establish, if they have
not already done so, judicial or administrative proceedings which
provide adequate and effective remedies and are fair, equitable,
timely and not prohibitively expensive. This is a big step
forward. Special attention should be drawn to the fact that the
review procedure covers not only the rights laid down in the
convention. It also requires the Parties to ensure that the
public under some conditions "has access to administrative
and judicial procedures to challenge acts and omissions by
private persons and public authorities which contravene
provisions of its national law relating to the environment."