1. Sharing environmental information with the public
Michael Stanley-Jones
UNECE Environment and Human Settlements Division
Green Spiders Network Annual Conference
Rome – October 2004

2. The Aarhus Convention (1998)
UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation on Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters

3. — UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
“... Although regional in scope, the significance of the Aarhus Convention is global. It is by far the most impressive elaboration of principle 10 of the Rio Declaration... As such it is the most ambitious venture in the area of ‘environmental democracy’ so far undertaken under the auspices of the United Nations....“
— UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan

4. … a most unconventional convention
Recognition of citizens' rights
Procedural rights to information, participation, justice
Substantive rights of present and future generations to live in an environment adequate to health and wellbeing

5. International in scope
Rights to be enjoyed irrespective of citizenship, nationality, domicile etc
Open to non-ECE countries

6. Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs)
First international legally binding instrument to establish baseline for national pollutant registers
Open to non-ECE countries and even to countries that are not parties to the Aarhus Convention

7. Three pillars of the Convention:
ACCESS TO INFORMATION (arts. 4-5)
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (arts. 6-8)
ACCESS TO JUSTICE (art. 9)

8. Information pillar: passive components
Any person has access (no need to prove or even state an interest)
Broad definition of environmental information (art. 2)
Time limit: ‘as soon as possible’,
max. 1 month, plus 1 more month

9. Information pillar: passive components
Charges not to exceed
reasonable amount
Finite set of exemptions,
with restrictive interpretation:
public interest to be taken into account
potential effects of disclosure must be adverse

10. Information pillar: active components
Transparency and accessibility of information systems
Immediate dissemination of information in cases of imminent threat to health or environment
Dissemination of international agreements, laws, policies, strategies, programmes and action plans relating to the environment

12. Information pillar: active components
Sufficient product information to ensure informed environmental choices
Pollutant release and transfer registers
Increased access to information through Internet
State of environment reports

13. Public Participation pillar
Specific Projects or Activities (art. 6), Programmes and Plans (art. 7)
Policies (art. 7) to provide opportunities in the preparation of policies relating to the environment “to the extent appropriate”
Rules and regulations (art. 8) to promote effective public participation in rules/regulations and other legally binding instruments that may have a significant effect on the environment.

14. PRTR Protocol
Requires Parties to establish a publicly accessible national PRTR maintained through mandatory reporting of certain listed pollutants release or transferred from certain listed activities
Open to all UN Member States and regional economic integration organizations with competence , including non-Parties to the Convention

15. Each Party obligated to establish a PRTR that is:
publicly accessible and user-friendly
presents standardized, timely data on a structured, computerized database
covers releases and transfers from certain major point sources

16. begins to include some diffuse sources (e. g
begins to include some diffuse sources (e.g. transport, agriculture, small- and medium-sized enterprises)
has limited confidentiality provisions
allows public participation in its development and modification

17. PRTRs should be: accessible through the Internet free of charge
searchable according to the separate parameters
provide links to other PRTRs and to other relevant registers
provide for limited confidentiality - similar to the Convention

18. Pollutants covered (annex II):
Greenhouse gases
Acid rain pollutants
Ozone-depleting substances
Heavy metals
Certain carcinogens, such as dioxins
TOTAL: 86 pollutants

20. The European Pollutant Emission Register (EPER)
Launched 23 February 2004 by the European Commission and European Environment Agency
Provides the stepping-stone for EU to comply with the UNECE PRTR Protocol

21. for environmental democracy
AARHUS CLEARINGHOUSE
for environmental democracy

22. EPER
More than 100,000 visitors in its first three months of operation
1,600,000 hits – highest ever at EEA

23. NGOs will make use of PRTR data
to search by community
makes links to health information
populate map servers…

40. for environmental democracy
AARHUS CLEARINGHOUSE
for environmental democracy

42. Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers

44. Task Force on Electronic Information Tools
Draft Recommendations on the more effective use of electronic information tools
Support for the clearing-house mechanism, including national contacts points and nodes of the Aarhus Clearinghouse

45. PRTR Virtual Classroom

47. The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling
of Chemicals (GHS)

49. Happy Halloween

50. “The ability for all to access and contribute information, ideas and knowledge is essential in an inclusive Information Society.”
— WSIS Declaration of Principles