Published: 2011
TAI and ARTICLE 19 joint position paper leading up to Rio+20. Also available in Spanish and Portuguese.
Topics: Capacity Building
Published: 2011
UNEP Perspectives Series
This discussion paper 1) briefly explores the rationale and principles for “public participation” in IEG; 2) reviews exemplary practice and options of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) with regard to implementing these principles and suggests a number of changes to IEG that could enable more transparent, participatory, and accountable governance; and 3) suggests that Rio +20 provides an opportunity to improve the quality of civil society participation by enabling civil society organizations not merely to observe, but also to inform, shape, and engage decisionmaking processes by securing an equal footing with states in some aspects of the IEG policy-making process; performing key governance functions that governments cannot or will not perform themselves; and amplifying the voices of people and of interests that governments may not represent adequately. In order to frame these observations in the context of Rio +20’s mandate to review progress toward sustainable development, this paper concludes by summarizing proposals across the three pillars of Principle 10 of the 1992 Rio Declaration (access to information, public participation, and access to justice).
Published: 2011
Twelve Responding Governments
Attached you will find a full write-up of the responses from the responding governments.
Governments who responded:
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Cameroon
- Costa Rica
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Gabon
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Latvia
- Madagascar
- Mexico
- Peru
- Thailand
- Venezuela
Governments contacted, no response:
- Benin
- Chile
- Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
- India
- Jamaica
- Macedonia
- Malawi
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka
Published: 2008
El objetivo de este folleto es facilitar la comprension del documento “Manual de acceso a la información y a la participación ambiental en Colombia”, destacando sus datos clave y proponiendo la realización de actividades que permitan la reflexión sobre los diferentes temas y aplicación práctica de la teoría. El manual pretende dar al lector un instrumento para el acceso a la información y participacón en asustos relacionados con el medio ambiente y los recursos naturales, los derechos y deberes relacionados con el tema y brindar y visión jurídica y social de lo relativo en materia ambientala nivel nacional e intenacional.
Published: 2010
Advocacy, for the TAI Network means turning our research into meaningful change on the ground. It is actively convincing others that our goal of widening access is worth implementing and ensuring that implementation is done well.
The Access Initiative (TAI) Advocacy Toolkit is a set of tools developed to help TAI partners strategically achieve reform and policy practice around access to information, public participation, and access to justice. Partners in Latin America contributed directly to the development of the toolkit in the regional meeting from 2009. Partners from Asia and Africa and attendees of the 2nd TAI Global Gathering contributed to the review of the tools over the course of their development. Partners used the toolkit successfully in Cameroon (FEDEV), Chile (PARTICIPA), India (LIFE), Ecuador (CEDA) Zimbabwe (ZELA). Partners from the 3rd Global Gathering in Uganda in 2010 have helped to refine and finalise proposals for this tool kit.
Published: 2010
Changes in Laws for 29 TAI partners
Attached, is a database of improvements in over 30 TAI Partner Countries. This database highlights changes in national laws towards access improvements from 2005 to 2010. The database highlights areas of change based on Access Pillars: Access to Information (A2I), Access to Justice (A2J), Public Participation(PP) and Capacity Building. Within the database, one can click on the link country tab to find the laws changes within each country.
Published: 2010
Attached, is a matrix of stories that have been written by TAI partners from October 2008 to July 2010 on access changes within their respective countries. The chart highlights the areas of change based on Access Pillars:Access to Information (A2I), Access to Justice (A2J), Public Participation (PP) and Capacity Building.
Within the chart, one can click on the link provided. This goes directly to a story or short blog post on this website explaining. The post provides first hand information from TAI partners working within that pillar of access.
Published: 2008
The Access Initiative (TAI) Thailand, an environmental governance coalition has conducted three national assessments on environmental governance in Thailand in order to find ways to improve its environmental accountability. Having proposed by friends in the non-governmental organizations that a citizen’s toolkit of environmental governance should be made available for the interested public to be used as guidelines in considering the governance performance of projects conducted in their local areas, TAI Thailand then produced this toolkit.
This toolkit is therefore designed for the public to use as guidelines in considering the levels of good governance for projects (or planning or policy making) only. It is not meant for the public or any organizations to use to assess good governance, because the number of indicators gathered in this toolkit is only half of the indicators of the full version. Moreover, in conducting a complete assessment, it would have to follow procedures and involve many analysts/researchers. This toolkit can also be used by the government agencies as guidelines to enhance good governance in conducting the work of your agency.
Published: 2009
Este documento recoge los criterios, análisis y discusiones generados en el Foro “Transparencia y Acceso a la Información Pública en el Ecuador. Retos y Análisis cinco años después de promulgada la LOTAIP”, y busca ser un medio para difundir y promover el debate sobre los retos existentes en el Ecuador en cuanto al acceso a la información.
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.