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Home > About the Aarhus Clearinghouse
- The Aarhus Clearinghouse for Environmental Democracy supports the effective implementation of the Aarhus Convention through the collection, dissemination and exchange of information on laws and good practices relevant to the public's right to
- access environmental information,
- participate in environmental decision-making, and
- achieve justice on environmental matters.
"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, which stresses the need for citizens' participation in environmental issues and for access to information on the environment held by public authorities. As such it is the most ambitious venture in the area of environmental democracy so far undertaken under the auspices of the United Nations."
Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations (1997-2006) |
The Aarhus Clearinghouse also contains information relevant to the implementation of principle 10 of the Rio Declaration at the global, regional and national levels around the world.
The Clearinghouse supports the functioning of the Aarhus Convention's compliance review mechanism. It assists the Compliance Committee of the Convention with access to national implementing legislation and practices.
National Focal Points to the Convention and designated national nodes of the Clearinghouse provide information to the Clearinghouse. Nongovernmental organizations
and other stakeholders may also submit information to the Clearinghouse through their national focal points or through the Aarhus Convention Secretariat.
The Clearinghouse provides information for a wide range of users, including Parties, Signatories and other states; Intergovernmental organizations; NGOs; students and researchers; and the general public. Easy access to information on how countries have implemented the Aarhus Convention can provide an invaluable source of inspiration for other countries that work on developing their own procedures, mechanisms and legislation.
The Aarhus Clearinghouse website was developed for UNECE by UNEP/GRID-Arendal with the support of the Government of Norway. It is managed by the Aarhus Convention Secretariat and hosted by UNEP/GRID-Arendal.
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Europe | European Neighbourhood Policy
The European Neighbourhood Policy is all about working together with those states who share a land or sea border with the EU, to increase their prosperity and stability too.
Neighbours who want to carry out reforms to improve their standards of democracy and human rights, to increase their access to the Union's single market, to improve the environment or to step up their co-operation with the EU on issues like energy, transport or migration, have the chance to work on a joint Action Plan with the EU, and can look forward to substantial assistance: technical help, political support, and more aid money. The Policy sets out the objectives and identifies areas where additional efforts are required on the part of the EU in areas as such as energy, climate change, environment, fisheries, transport, maritime policy, research, information society, education, employment and social policy. In English, French, Germany and Spanish.
http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/index_en.htm, 2008
Europe | Caselex
Caselex is the first premium information service offering the most important national and European case law linked to the European Union's commercial areas of law, without need for multilingual and multinational legal skills. Caselex identifies and selects only cases with cross-border relevance, i.e. linked to EU law, including Environmental Law and ICT and Media Law. Caselex is aimed as a practical tool for legal professionals in need of solutions to national and international legal issues connected to EU law. Caselex offers the most important cases of the national courts in Europe, implying the national Supreme Courts and the High Courts. It does also include the cases of the European Court of Justice and the EFTA Court. Under News viewers may access a flyer and press release on environmental case law. The service offers a free trial subscription.
Caselex, 2008
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