The workshop was organized by the secretariat of UNECE Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (Protocol on PRTRs) to the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention), the secretariat of the Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution (Air Convention) in cooperation with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus and its scientific and research center RUE “Bel SRC “Ecology”.
The three-day event aimed to promote the implementation and ratification of the Protocol on PRTRs, also through explaining the synergies with the Air Convention and its protocols in data collecting and reporting. Relevant authorities with political and technical responsibilities, as well as representatives of civil society and PRTR experts from participating countries shared knowledge, learned from each other and discussed solutions to existing deficiencies in relation to the implementation and use of PRTRs.
Through a range of specific thematic sessions, participants found out how better to deal with the implementation of PRTRs at the national level as regards: a) creating the appropriate institutional and legal frameworks; b) developing the list of chemical substances and enterprises to be covered; c) developing reporting requirements; d) managing data and its dissemination; e) foreseeing capacity building needs; and f) promoting public awareness.
The participants had opportunity to share experiences gained through implementing PRTRs in different countries and learn how better to deal with the implementation of PRTRs in their own countries and to use synergies with other instruments, such as the Air Convention and its protocols.
Documents
Documents for the meeting, statements and presentations given during the meeting, and the meeting report are being uploaded on this webpage as they become available.