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Topics: Access to Information

El acceso a la información como herramienta de Participación Ciudadana en asuntos ambientales

Published: 2009

En el actual contexto normativo e institucional, la participación de la ciudadanía es uno de los ejes fundamentales de la gestión pública en todos sus ámbitos. La nueva Constitución de Montecristi consagra a la participación ciudadana como un derecho y un principio de organización e innovación institucional del Estado para garantizar los derechos de las personas. No podemos olvidar que el desarrollo requiere del aporte y la inclusión de todos los sectores sociales, no sólo como una forma de ser parte activa de su propio desarrollo, sino también como un espacio de corresponsabilidad para con lo público. Es así que la participación ciudadana cumple un rol articulador en los procesos de desarrollo, siempre y cuando ésta sea vista como una necesidad de articular visiones, propuestas, criterios, acciones y compromisos, y no como una mera formalidad para “avalar” procesos.

En la gestión ambiental, la participación ciudadana fundamenta los espacios de interacción de las comunidades, de las organizaciones de la sociedad civil y otros actores interesados, con el gobierno –nacional y local- en los procesos de toma de decisiones en relación al ambiente. Sin embargo, para que esta participación de la ciudadanía sea eficiente, efectiva y oportuna tiene que ser informada.

En este contexto, la edición del mes de agosto de nuestra serie de policy briefs “Temas de análisis”, analiza la importancia del acceso a la información como un insumo indispensable para la participación ciudadana en la gestión ambiental.

Legislative Transparency

Published: 2008

This informational memo, by TAI partner, Dr. Csaba Kiss, outlines the benefits and theory behind legislative transparency. Additionally, it uses examples from existing practice in TAI countries. It is part of a larger series of informational memos on best practices and access rights.

The information memos are commissioned by the TAI Secretariat. They represent the ideas and thoughts of their respective authors and do not represent the official position of the Access Initiative or the TAI Secretariat. While the secretariat does its best to ensure the quality of these memos they are essentially the work of their respective authors who take full responsibility for their content. Please contact the TAI Secretariat if you have ideas for topics which are not covered in the current research.

Acceso a la Información Ambiental en Bolivia

By Teresa Flores (Posted: June 23, 2009)  

El acceso a la información está consagrado en la nueva Constitución Política de Estado, aprobada por Referendum este año, y en varias leyes y decretos. La Ley del Medio Ambiente y sus reglamentos prescriben este derecho en varios artículos. Sin embargo, muchos funcionarios públicos desconocen estas leyes y se niegan a brindar la información solicitada.

Un importante paso para superar esta práctica ha sido dado por el Viceministro de Medio Ambiente, Juan Pablo Ramos, disponiendo la creación del Centro de Documentación en Calidad Ambiental (CEDOCA) que está abierto al público. Este Centro permite consultar los archivos de los Estudios de Impacto Ambiental, las fichas, manifiestos y licencias ambientales, que en anteriores gestiones eran considerados secretos.

El acceso a esta información es de gran relevancia porque permite conocer en qué medida una determinada obra o proyecto puede afectar al país o al lugar donde uno vive. La información ambiental es clave para conocer el estado del medio ambiente y orientar la toma de decisiones a todo nivel. Las decisiones que afectan al medio ambiente y a nuestros recursos naturales no deben estar basadas en percepciones individuales que pueden estar muy alejadas de la realidad.

Además, sin un acceso a la información oportuna las personas no pueden participar de las decisiones que afectan sus vidas y sus recursos. Sin un acceso público a la información las comunidades tampoco pueden pedir a los tomadores de decisiones que rindan cuentas y que cumplan sus planes. El derecho de acceso a la información es un prerequisito fundamental para la participación ciudadana y para la profundización de la democracia. Cuando la gente tiene acceso a la información ambiental puede reclamar por situaciones que pueden estar dañando su salud, o contribuir a corregir las injusticias ambientales, como el vertimiento de desechos tóxicos en una determinada comunidad. Una persona informada puede contribuir a mejorar la calidad ambiental del medio en que habita u optar por los productos menos dañinos a la salud y al medio ambiente. En muchos países, por ejemplo, gracias a la información disponible, la gente puede hacer seguimiento de la calidad del agua que consume o del aire que respira y tomar medidas preventivas cuando estos no son de buena calidad.

Uno de los problemas para el acceso a la información ambiental en Bolivia es que frecuentemente no está sistematizada y no se encuentra disponible. Por eso es que la Asociación Prodefensa de la Naturaleza (PRODENA), en el marco de la Iniciativa Acceso, ha venido impulsando la creación de un Sistema de Información Ambiental (SNIA), que a pesar de está prescrito en la Ley del Medio Ambiente, 16 años después, no se lo ha llegado a implementar.

Se pretende que el SNIA recoja, sistematice y difunda la información sobre la calidad del agua, el aire los suelos y el estado de los recursos naturales. En algunos temas como bosques, por ejemplo, se cuenta con una buena base de información. Sin embargo, sobre los suelos, que es uno de los principales problemas ambientales por los procesos de erosión y desertización que sufre más del 40% de su territorio, la información es muy limitada y desactualizada.

Con el fin de crear el SNIA, el 10 de junio PRODENA ha dictado un taller para los funcionarios del viceministerio de Medio Ambiente. En este taller se han discutido las características y los indicadores del Sistema. El taller ha puesto hincapié en la construcción de indicadores que permitan hacer seguimiento a los principales problemas ambiental de Bolivia. Se ha subrayado que es mejor comenzar con unos pocos indicadores, que gradualmente se vayan aumentando para ir haciendo ajustes al sistema. Debido a que cada indicador requiere esfuerzo, tiempo y recursos, lo más importante es que los indicadores a definir puedan ser actualizados periódicamente.

Existe la voluntad política para avanzar en la construcción del SNIA, pero la falta de bases de datos sobre muchos temas dificulta la tarea, en este sentido se ha sugerido hacer redes y alianzas con ONGs que colectan información para poder intercambiarla y fortalecerse mutuamente. La respuesta de los funcionarios presentes en el taller, ha sido muy positiva y se espera avances concretos en la implementación del SNIA en el transcurso de este año.

prodena@gmail.com

Are Access Rights the Next Victim of the Global Recession?

By Andrew Rizzardi (Posted: June 10, 2009) 

Environmental access rights could be threatened by government stimulus packages intended to counter the effects of the global recession. Several countries worldwide have proposed stimulus legislation that includes rollbacks of environmental impact assessments (EIAs).

The information made available by EIAs is fundamental to informing the public of development issues and promoting participation. A reduction to EIA procedures will inherently result in a decline in transparency and threaten public involvement in development projects.

A few countries such as Canada and Peru have already taken legislative steps weakening EIAs. Preliminary reports from the Access Initiative provide that similar measures are being considered in a number of countries worldwide. To date, only the United States has rebuffed calls to ease environmental regulations by including language that effectively protects the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Environmental impact assessments are an invaluable tool that advances public capacity to participate and impact development decisions. Reducing such standards poses a serious risk of alienating the public and allowing development projects to move forward unchecked by the affected communities. Economic recovery programs and increases in development need not come at the expense of access rights and environmental procedures. Safeguards for access rights should be a component of all stimulus legislation worldwide.

See WRI posting:

Tracking Environmental Impact Assessment Rollbacks

Join the discussion:

Discussion Group – Identifying Rollbacks in EIA

See also:

Canadians Debating to Lower Environmental Safeguards

Stimulus or Environment – Must we choose?

Indian Court Reminds Environment Tribunal About Its Duty to the Future Generation

USEPA To Publish All Official Calendars: Bold New Step or Token Measure?

By David Lyons (Posted: June 5, 2009) 

Both during his campaign and since assuming office, U.S. President Obama has repeatedly emphasized the importance that transparency and accountability play in his governing philosophy. In fact, just a day after the inauguration, the president issued this memo directing federal agencies and departments to ensure that their affairs are “transparent,” “participatory,” and “collaborative.”

But the efforts of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to fulfill this pledge raise as many questions as they answer about just what constitutes meaningful access.

Shortly after the release of the president’s memo, the EPA’s new chief administrator, Lisa Jackson, issued similar instructions to agency employees. She reinforced the agency’s commitment to honoring Freedom of Information Act requests and emphasized protections for whistleblowers, but the only new initiative she unveiled was a commitment to publish her public schedule, as well as those of her top deputies.

Some critics, however, have argued that the new disclosure is of little value to the public. When one of the EPA officials responsible for implementing the pledge to publish the calendars asked for suggestions on the best format to do so, some commentators demanded further disclosures.

As Mark Tapscott, an editor of The Washington Examiner, a newspaper, noted in response, “…When government officials routinely include on their online calendars names and titles of all meeting participants, a link to minutes of the meetings and links to copies of all documents considered in the meetings, then we will have a genuinely useful and credible transparency tool.”

So, how far should government officials go in releasing their internal deliberations and documents? At what point does too much disclosure threaten to limit candid discussion between political leaders who fear that off-hand comments might be taken out of context or misinterpreted?

Some guidelines for assessing the value of disclosures might include:

  • the information opens the decision-making processes of public officials and institutions
  • the information is easy to access, to share and to analyze, with public officials and institutions proactively disclosing information
  • the public is encouraged to offer comments, criticism and suggestions

Enhancing Access to Environmental Information and Justice in Malawi

(Posted: May 27, 2009) 

From January 2009, Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy (CEPA) has been implementing a project aimed at enhancing access to environmental information and justice in matters relating to the environment by facilitating enactment of the revised framework Environment Management Bill and the Access to Information Bill.

As a first step in implementation, CEPA has successfully reviewed current drafts of the Access to Information Bill and the Environmental Management Bill to determine the manner in which they address the access principles as well as mechanisms for improving access to environmental information and justice. The policy brief produced from the review will be used to engage policy makers and other stakeholders involved in enactment of these draft bills and monitoring compliance to the legislation.

The Constitution of the Republic of Malawi guarantees every person the right of access to information held by the state. Similarly the draft Access to Information Bill outlines provisions for improving access to information. However both the Constitution and this Bill limit their application to information held by the state or any of its organs. The draft Environment Management Bill seeks to address some of these limitations by expanding the scope of the environmental information that may be accessed to include that held by private entities. The provisions for promoting access to environmental information and justice are adequate. The challenge will be ensuring that an independent authority is established which can make public institutions to respond to requests for environmental information.

The Bolivian Ministry of the Environment and Water Has Opened a Documentation Center on Environmental Quality

By Theresa Flores (Posted: May 17, 2009) 

The Ministry of the Environment and Water, in April, opened a center to provide access to information on Environmental Quality. This Centre for the first time makes available to the public Environmental Impact Assessments and Environmental Licenses. Access to this information is vital for the communities to raise their voices and concerns about the projects that may impact their lives.

The Vice Minister of the Environment, Biodiversity and Climate Change, Juan Pablo Ramos, who is the country’s main environmental authority, said that opening the Center forms part of their commitments to the Partnership for the Principle 10.

According to the Law this information had to be available to the public, but it never was due to the bureaucracy that did not care for the interests of the public. The vice ministry is also advancing in setting a National System of Environmental Information because it considers a priority the public access to information.

Memoria: Taller regional de las Coaliciones de Acceso de Centroamérica

San José, Costa Rica. 2009

Last April 29th and 30th, representatives from TAI Coalitions from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Costa Rica gathered in regional workshop to create a common Action Plan to strengthen their work on the implementation of Principle 10.

The Action Plan has three sections:

A) Challenges and commitments of the leader organizations in each coalition: This point is related with the strengthening of the following aspects: 1) National coalitions to promote the Access Rights. 2) Information channels within the coalitions and between the coalitions. 3) Fundraising for national coalitions projects. 4) the inclusion of the Dominican Republic and Panama in the regional process. 5) Establishing a regional partnership that consolidates common work strategies and get funding for regional projects. 6) Political context challenges in each country. B) Regional Agenda: This point refers to issues related with: 1) access to information and communications between governments and civil society, 2) Legal framework on access rights. 3) Proceedings and institutional structures of public participation. 4) Education and training on access rights. 5) Funding for public participation and access to information. C) Building a regional partnership: It contains the actions defined to create a regional partnership of TAI Coalitions in Central America.

As part of the program, the meeting had two spaces to tend other topics: Daniel Barragán, from TAI Ecuador, presented the hemispheric strategic plan of Latin America Access Coalitions. Aldo Palacios and Diego Cooper from PP10Secretariat presented the components and the work of the Partnership for Principle 10.

This workshop is an activity of the project “Partnership 10 Central America” which is funded by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and executed by Foundation for Peace and Democracy(FUNPADEM).

Further information please contact Luis Diego Segura from Foundation for Peace and Democracy, FUNPADEM. Email sociedadcivil@funpadem.org or +506 2283 9435.

La Inciativa de Acceso en Centro America

San José, Costa Rica. 2009

Last April 29th and 30th, representatives from TAI Coalitions from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Costa Rica gathered in regional workshop to create a common Action Plan to strengthen their work on the implementation of Principle 10.

The Action Plan has three sections:

A) Challenges and commitments of the leader organizations in each coalition: This point is related with the strengthening of the following aspects: 1) National coalitions to promote the Access Rights. 2) Information channels within the coalitions and between the coalitions. 3) Fundraising for national coalitions projects. 4) the inclusion of the Dominican Republic and Panama in the regional process. 5) Establishing a regional partnership that consolidates common work strategies and get funding for regional projects. 6) Political context challenges in each country. B) Regional Agenda: This point refers to issues related with: 1) access to information and communications between governments and civil society, 2) Legal framework on access rights. 3) Proceedings and institutional structures of public participation. 4) Education and training on access rights. 5) Funding for public participation and access to information. C) Building a regional partnership: It contains the actions defined to create a regional partnership of TAI Coalitions in Central America.

As part of the program, the meeting had two spaces to tend other topics: Daniel Barragán, from TAI Ecuador, presented the hemispheric strategic plan of Latin America Access Coalitions. Aldo Palacios and Diego Cooper from PP10 Secretariat presented the components and the work of the Partnership for Principle 10.

This workshop is an activity of the project “Partnership 10 Central America” which is funded by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and executed by Foundation for Peace and Democracy(FUNPADEM).

Further information please contact Luis Diego Segura from Foundation for Peace and Democracy, FUNPADEM. Email sociedadcivil@funpadem.org or +506 2283 9435.

El Principio 10 en Costa Rica: Situación y desafíos

San José, Costa Rica. 2009

Last April 29th and 30th, representatives from TAI Coalitions from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Costa Rica gathered in regional workshop to create a common Action Plan to strengthen their work on the implementation of Principle 10.

The Action Plan has three sections:

A) Challenges and commitments of the leader organizations in each coalition: This point is related with the strengthening of the following aspects: 1) National coalitions to promote the Access Rights. 2) Information channels within the coalitions and between the coalitions. 3) Fundraising for national coalitions projects. 4) the inclusion of the Dominican Republic and Panama in the regional process. 5) Establishing a regional partnership that consolidates common work strategies and get funding for regional projects. 6) Political context challenges in each country. B) Regional Agenda: This point refers to issues related with: 1) access to information and communications between governments and civil society, 2) Legal framework on access rights. 3) Proceedings and institutional structures of public participation. 4) Education and training on access rights. 5) Funding for public participation and access to information. C) Building a regional partnership: It contains the actions defined to create a regional partnership of TAI Coalitions in Central America.

As part of the program, the meeting had two spaces to tend other topics: Daniel Barragán, from TAI Ecuador, presented the hemispheric strategic plan of Latin America Access Coalitions. Aldo Palacios and Diego Cooper from PP10 Secretariat presented the components and the work of the Partnership for Principle 10.

This workshop is an activity of the project “Partnership 10 Central America” which is funded by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and executed by Foundation for Peace and Democracy(FUNPADEM).

Further information please contact Luis Diego Segura from Foundation for Peace and Democracy, FUNPADEM. Email sociedadcivil@funpadem.org or +506 2283 9435.