Category: Procedural Obligations

States have procedural obligations in relation to environmental protection, including duties: (a) to assess environmental impacts and make environmental information public; (b) to facilitate public participation in environmental decision-making, including by protecting the rights of expression and association; and (c) to provide access to remedies for harm. The good practices included in this section are those that are particularly relevant to the entire range of procedural obligations.



Bali Guidelines for the Development of National Legislation on Access to Information, Public Participation, and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters

The Bali Guidelines were adopted by the Governing Council of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in its decision SS.XI/5, part A of 26 February 2010. They are a set of 26 voluntary guidelines that aim to provide general guidance to States on promoting “the effective implementation of their commitments to Principle 10 of the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and …   Continue readingBali Guidelines for the Development of National Legislation on Access to Information, Public Participation, and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters

Environmental Democracy Index

The World Resources institute (WRI) is a global research organization that works at “the nexus of environment, economic opportunity and human well-being.” The Access Initiative is a global network of civil society organisations that promote access to information, participation and justice in environmental decision-making. WRI and The Access Initiative (TAI) are …   Continue readingEnvironmental Democracy Index

China’s Revised Environmental Protection Law

In April 2014, China adopted a new framework Environmental Protection Law that entered into force on 1 January 2015. The Law incorporated a wide range of procedural rights guarantees relating to environmental information disclosure, public participation, and access to justice. Chapter V of the Law addresses environmental information disclosure and public participation. …   Continue readingChina’s Revised Environmental Protection Law

Regional Instrument on the Rights of Access to Information, Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean

During the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, ten States from the Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) region subscribed to a Declaration on Principle 10. By 2014, nine more countries had signed the Declaration, representing more than half of all LAC countries. The signatory countries, which include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Jamaica, expressed their …   Continue readingRegional Instrument on the Rights of Access to Information, Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Access Initiative

The Access Initiative (TAI), which was established in 1999, is a global network of more than 150 civil society organisations that promote the procedural rights of access to information, public participation, and justice in environmental decision-making. Member organisations from around the world carry out evidence-based advocacy to encourage collaboration and innovation …   Continue readingThe Access Initiative

Aarhus Centres

In an effort to support the implementation of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters by providing members of the public with practical resources to exercise their environmental rights under the Aarhus Convention, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) …   Continue readingAarhus Centres

(Aarhus) Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters

The Aarhus Convention is a regional instrument on the rights to access of information, participation, and access to justice, enshrined in Principle 10 of the 1992 Rio Declaration. Adopted in June 1998, the Aarhus Convention states that in order to “contribute to the protection of the right of every person of present and future generations to live in an environment …   Continue reading(Aarhus) Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters