The Working Group of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention is set to consider a draft decision on electronic information tools and the clearing-house mechanism at its 4th meeting, to be held 1-4 February 2005, in Geneva. The decision aims to realize a requirement of the Convention that each Party "ensure that...public authorities make environmental information available to the public... transparent and that environmental information is effectively accessible...." If adopted at the 2nd Meeting of the Parties next May, the decision is also expected to build capacity to participate in the Convention's Aarhus Clearinghouse for Environmental Democracy.
As general policy, countries would be encouraged by the decision to implement national "e-government" strategies. The aim would be to make public administration more transparent and efficient in providing available environmental information and in dealing with requests for information from the public.
The fulll text of the Draft Decision on Electronic Information Tools and the Clearing-House Mechanism can be accessed on the web site of the Working Group of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention: http://www.unece.org/env/pp/wgp.htm#4thwgp
