Environmental Democracy Index Launch

The Access Initiative and the World Resources Institute launched the first ever Environmental Democracy Index (EDI) on May 20th at the National Press Club. The index offers new insights into the state of environmental democracy around the world and opportunities to use the tool to support reform. EDI is the first index to measure how well countries’ national laws protect environmental democracy rights, namely: the right of the public to freely access relevant and timely information, to provide public input and scrutiny in decision-making, and to seek justice before an independent and fair legal authority in cases of environmental harm or violation of rights. The launch of EDI will provide a critical tool to help address such global environmental problems as air and water pollution, extractive industry impacts and biodiversity loss by establishing a centralized hub of legal analysis on procedural rights. The results will help establish both best practices and areas for improvement. Speakers Avi Garbow (Keynote speaker), General Counsel, US Environmental Protection Agency Manish Bapna, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, World Resources Institute Lalanath DeSilva, Project Director of Environmental Democracy Practice, World Resources Institute Rizwana Hasan, Goldman Prize winner, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association Constance Nalegach, P10 Focal Point, Ministry of Environment, Chile Mark Robinson, Global Director, Governance, World Resources Institute