Date published:
A regional meeting of Aarhus Centres opened on Thursday this week at the headquarters of the OSCE in Vienna. The meeting aimed to strengthen implementation of the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters.
Aarhus Convention National Focal Points and Aarhus Centre Managers from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan came together to share experience, best practices and challenges in putting the Aarhus Convention into practice. They were joined by the UNECE Aarhus Convention Secretariat, OSCE field and Secretariat representatives and several leading experts in this field.
Aarhus Centres, also known as Public Environmental Information Centres, are presently operating in seven countries, mainly in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia. Three centres also operate in Albania. A "virtual centre" has opened recently in Kazakhstan. The Centres provide a unique tool to support environmental governance processes at the local and national levels, which in turn contributes to addressing environmental and security challenges.
The outcomes of the Third Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention and the recommendations of the Independent Evaluation of Aarhus Centres (2008) commissioned by OSCE provided guidance to the deliberations. The primary outcome of the meeting is a Road Map for Aarhus Centres for the coming years. The meeting also considered ways of strengthening environmental information networks in the UNECE region.
The meeting was organized by Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities. OSCE has shepherded development of the Centres, in consultation with the Aarhus Convention Secretariat, through the support of the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC) and the Government of Norway.
For more information, see http://www.osce.org/item/35868.html.(Updated 23 January 2009)
Aarhus Convention National Focal Points and Aarhus Centre Managers from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan came together to share experience, best practices and challenges in putting the Aarhus Convention into practice. They were joined by the UNECE Aarhus Convention Secretariat, OSCE field and Secretariat representatives and several leading experts in this field.
Aarhus Centres, also known as Public Environmental Information Centres, are presently operating in seven countries, mainly in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia. Three centres also operate in Albania. A "virtual centre" has opened recently in Kazakhstan. The Centres provide a unique tool to support environmental governance processes at the local and national levels, which in turn contributes to addressing environmental and security challenges.
The outcomes of the Third Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention and the recommendations of the Independent Evaluation of Aarhus Centres (2008) commissioned by OSCE provided guidance to the deliberations. The primary outcome of the meeting is a Road Map for Aarhus Centres for the coming years. The meeting also considered ways of strengthening environmental information networks in the UNECE region.
The meeting was organized by Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities. OSCE has shepherded development of the Centres, in consultation with the Aarhus Convention Secretariat, through the support of the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC) and the Government of Norway.
For more information, see http://www.osce.org/item/35868.html.(Updated 23 January 2009)
