The TAI coalition in Nicaragua has as its objective to research, analyze and build capacity in order to improve the relationship between society and the environment, with a focus on natural resource use. From 2002-2006, the TAI coalition in Nicaragua examined case studies to sensitize the TAI Assessment methodology to issues of poverty. This work provided interesting and useful insights into which TAI indicators would benefit from poverty guidelines. The coalition also completed its first full Assessment in 2012.
Nicaragua
1.60
Environmental Democracy Index Score
Nicaragua scored well on the Transparency and Justice pillars, and received a fair score on the Participation pillar. The public has the right to access environmental information on request and the government must make environmental information proactively available to the public, although there are no requirements to monitor performance and collect information on activities that impact the environment. For the Participation pillar, the public is granted a right to give input on most decisions relating to the environment, but the law fails to ensure that participation will be provided at an early stage. The government is not obliged to incorporate public comments in environmental decisions. For the Justice pillar, the public can challenge government decisions on environmental information requests and there are strong legal mechanisms to ensure independence and impartiality. However, the public is not granted the right to challenge decisions by private actors, such as corporations, that impact the environment. By addressing these issues, Nicaragua could ensure that the public has access to public health information, can participate in decision making at an early stage, and can hold private corporations accountable for decisions that harm the environment.
Visit the Environmental Democracy Index to explore the EDI score.