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Meet our Host Organization of This Year’s TAI Global Gathering: Asociación Ambiente y Sociedad

By Carole Excell (Posted: August 14, 2014)

Mining and oil extraction projects in Colombia have been deemed of paramount importance due to the great potential to support needed economic development. By the end of the decade, mining is predicted to account for 13 percent of the country’s GDP. Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities of Colombia, who constitute 30.5 percent of the country’s population, may face great risk and uncertainty over the next decade as large-scale mining projects expand at a rapid rate. Half of the country’s total forested land is located in Afro-Colombian or indigenous community territories. Such resource-rich areas are highly sought after by players in the extractive industry. Yet the incoming mining boom must not be prioritized to the determinant of Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities at a time when their input and involvement is most crucial. These are the issues that Asociacon Ambiente y Socieded (AAS), works on, a Bogota-based civil society organization which seeks to ensure effective people have a say in policies, processes, and decision-making related to environmental matters. AAS is a member of The Access Initiative (TAI) the world’s largest civil society network of advocates and thought leaders dedicated to ensuring that citizens have the right and ability to influence decisions about the natural resources that sustain their communities. Because of their work on important issues surrounding environmental governance in Colombia, TAI is thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with AAS on hosting the Global Gathering this year! AAS’ recent work includes analyzing the impacts of extractive industries on the collective rights of the territories and forests of peoples and communities, focusing on cases that deal with Afro-Colombian communities from the pacific region of the country. They strive to achieve effective implementation of rights to access to information, public participation, and access to justice within the following programmatic areas:

  • Climate Change: focus on community-based issues and strategies regarding mitigation and adaptation, including forest communities;
  • Citizenship: facilitate community members’ participation and access to information in local environmental matters;
  • Development Projects: observe impacts of development projects and policies while encouraging civil society participation at decision-making platforms;

Additionally, AAS research examines the strengths and weaknesses of the three access rights in Latin America. AAS is part of the Regional Coalition for Transparency and Participation for Colombia with five other organizations from Perú, Bolivia, Ecuador and Brazil. Click here for more information. More on #TAI GG The Access Initiative’s Fifth Global Gathering will take place 29-31 October in Bogota, Colombia. This year’s Global Gathering is organized under an overarching theme of “Using Information, Data and Technology to Protect Forests and Strengthen the Rights of Forest-Dependent Communities”. Participants will be able to attend exciting sessions about using technology to improve forest governance and strengthen community rights, including new tools such as the Environmental Democracy Index and the Global Forest Watch. We will be examining such issues as can an increase in access to technology and information help strengthen the capacity of local people to effectively engage in key decision making forums? What tools and strategies could communities use to help monitor and manage local forest lost or gain? How can civil society organizations support these developments? To obtain more information about this global meeting, please contact: Carole Excell Project Director, The Access Initiative (cexcell@wri.org)

Civil Society in Brazil Engages on the Latin America and Caribbean Regional Principle 10 Process

By Devika Jaipuriar (Posted: August 12, 2014)

PROGRESS IN P10 IMPLEMENTATION As a significant outcome from Rio+20, 18 Governments have now adopted the Principle 10 Declaration for Latin America and the Caribbean on Environment and Development. ECLAC has created a [register of interest for civil society organizations across the region] (http://teamrooms.cepal.org/apps/Principio10.nsf/Inscripcion?OpenForm&Leng=I) to indicate their interest in getting updates about the regional process. Decisions have still to be taken whether this regional instrument will be legally binding or not this September 2014. Brazil currently co-chairs with Costa Rica the Working Group on designing the regional instrument. NEW CIVIL SOCIETY EFFORTS In early July, TAI partners from The Institute of Agricultural and Forest Management and Certification (Imaflora) and Article 19 drafted two documents intended for ECLAC and the Brazilian government regarding their issues and concerns about the proposed regional instrument. The documents submitted to ECLAC and the Brazilian Government ask for the creation of a legally binding regional instrument. The letter to the Brazilian government proposes the implementation of more actions to engage groups in Brazil to participate in the process including creating the instrument. These documents have been supported by 26 signatories including environmental organizations, foundations, network, and access to information lawyers. HOW TO GET INVOLVED Organizations and individuals interested in learning about Principle 10 can email comunicacao@artigo19.org or renato@imaflora.org for more information. If you would like to participate in discussions or draft proposals about the proposed regional instruments, or gather news and official documents about the process, please visit the following site: Spanish: http://www.eclac.cl/rio20/principio10/default.asp English: http://www.eclac.cl/rio20/principio10/default.asp?idioma=IN

What Does Environmental Democracy Look Like?

By Jesse Worker and Stephanie Ratte (Posted: July 30, 2014)

This blog post was originally posted on WRI Insights on July 29, 2014.

Written by Jesse Worker and Stephanie Ratte

This blog post is the first installment of WRI’s Exploring Environmental Democracy blog series, which examines the state of environmental rights in regions around the world. Later this year, WRI’s Access Initiative will launch a new mapping tool that evaluates how environmental democracy principles are being applied in 70 countries.

Eight years ago, developers proposed a five-dam project on the Baker and Pascua Rivers in Patagonia, Chile. While they projected that the hydropower would produce 2,750 megawatts of power, the project would also flood 23 square miles of wilderness, jeopardizing the environment, local culture, and tourism of the region.

Citizens opposed the project, arguing that Chile’s energy needs could be met through less damaging projects, such as energy efficiency and renewable energy. Just last month—after eight years of campaigning by the Patagonia Defense Council, a coalition of more than 70 domestic and international organizations and individuals—Chile’s Environment Minister, Pablo Badenier, revoked the permit. The advocacy of this coalition, which includes Access Initiative member FIMA, was credited by International Rivers as “perhaps the most important reason” for the reversal.

The success of this campaign is a powerful example of the importance of public participation in land-use decisions. Civil society raised concern over the impacts of the proposed dams on livelihoods and the environment, which ultimately created political opposition. However, far too often the public is not meaningfully engaged in these decisions. This is often due to weak laws that limit the public’s access to information, do not provide adequate public voice in decision-making, or provide no access to justice when environmental harms are committed. These issues are at the heart of environmental democracy—a key component in preserving the health of communities and the regions they call home.

Why Is Environmental Democracy Important?

Environmental democracy is rooted in the idea that meaningful participation by the public is critical to ensuring that land and natural resource decisions adequately and equitably address citizens’ interests. Rather than setting a standard for what determines a good outcome, environmental democracy sets a standard for how decisions should be made.

At its core, environmental democracy involves three mutually reinforcing rights that, while independently important, operate best in combination: the ability for people to freely access information on environmental quality and problems, to participate meaningfully in decision-making, and to seek enforcement of environmental laws or compensation for damages.

Understanding 3 Fundamental Rights: Information, Participation, and Justice

Access to Information

When well-designed and implemented, access-to-information laws require that governments and companies make information such as environmental impact assessments, development project plans, and pollution discharges freely available to the public. By being informed, the public can participate more effectively in decision-making and hold companies and governments accountable for actions that are not in accordance with the law. Information should not only be available, but accessible to the public through formats they can readily use—taking into account literacy, language, readability, use of technology, and more.

Making environmental information open and freely accessible can often be the foundation for change. The United States, for example, developed the first-ever Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR)—called the Toxics Release Inventory—in 1986 following several environmental disasters, including a chemical release from the Union Carbine plant in West Virginia in 1985. The TRI requires that certain industrial facilities annually submit data on the quantity of toxic chemicals they release. Since 1986, at least 50 other countries have developed PRTRs or implemented pilot programs. While the US TRI certainly still has room for improvement, compelling companies to make this data public has helped reduce the incidence of toxic releases in the country.

Public Participation

Public participation laws improve information flow between communities and government or private sector decision-makers. This exchange can help avoid unintended consequences, increase support for a decision, and lead to a more equitable distribution of costs and benefits. The public should be informed early in the decision-making process about opportunities to participate, such as through town hall meetings or community workshops. They also need to be provided with any information necessary to meaningfully engage—such as environmental impact assessments—and should be able to participate without incurring burdensome costs, such as traveling to a capital city. Participation is less meaningful when the public is merely informed of an upcoming decision and left with no opportunity to influence it.

One of the better-known public participation processes for the environment is through Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), which in many countries require public consultations before the development of projects that will have environmental impacts. However, these consultations can vary widely in quality. When the public is given ample notice along with the necessary information to understand and participate meaningfully, these assessments can be effective ways to safeguard against environmental harms or to ensure that adequate compensation. On the other hand, public consultations that serve only to inform of a decision that has already been made undermine public trust, reduce legitimacy and stifle the flow of important information.

Access to Justice

When members of the public do lack access to information and participation, they should be able to exercise a right to seek justice—such as compensation or appealing a project. These accountability mechanisms should be independent and impartial, and ideally able to issue binding, enforceable decisions.

Environmental tribunals such as India’s National Green Tribunal (NGT) are good examples of mechanisms that provide access to justice. The NGT was established in 2010 in recognition of the large number of court cases involving environmental disputes. The tribunal has jurisdiction over all civil cases involving “substantial question[s] relating to [the] environment,” and is mandated to attempt to conclude a case within six months of the filing date. Between May 2011 and March 2014, the Tribunal has adjudicated 393 cases.

Spotlight on Environmental Democracy

Over the coming months, The Access Initiative at WRI will continue to look at environmental democracy around the world. This work will both showcase success stories and help shed light on areas for improvement. By fostering a better understanding of how environmental democracy principles are applied in countries throughout the world, we can work toward improving quality of life for people and the planet.

VIDEO: Watch Lalanath de Silva of TAI Discuss UNEP’s New Access to Information Policy at UNEA in Nairobi!

By Devika Jaipuriar (Posted: July 3, 2014)

After the announcement of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) new access to information policy, The Access Initiative and over 150 CSOsworldwide expressed the need for immediate reform. At the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) on 23-27 June in Nairobi, Lalanath de Silva of TAI raised his concerns to UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner, about the policy’s lack of true transparency. Mr. Steiner responded by inviting members of civil society to actively join the reform process of this pilot policy over the next year. Watch the full video here.

The Access Initiative LAC Partners Statement on P10 Process at Aahrus MOP

By Daniel Barragan (Posted: July 1, 2014)

Thank you Mr. Chair for giving me an opportunity to speak. My name is Daniel Barragan from the Ecuadorian Center for Environmental Law. I will be sharing the floor with Danielle Andrade from the Jamaica Environment Trust. Both members of The Access Initiative.

The LAC P10 Declaration and process adopted since 2012 for its implementation is like a seed springing forth from fertile soil with the potential to become a beautiful tree, an opportunity to spread environmental democracy to other regions of the world. Emerging from “the Future we want” document recognized at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20 process, a specific Declaration was made by 10 LAC countries to launch a process to explore the feasibility of adopting a regional instrument, ranging from guidelines, workshops and best practices to a regional convention open to all countries in the region and with the meaningful participation of all concerned citizens.

Civil society believes the process has legs, strong legs. The Aarhus Convention has proven to be a beacon for countries around the world on the possibility of building trust between citizens and their governments and setting high standards for transparency, public engagement and access to justice in environmental decision-making. It is a coming of age of the LAC region to have adopted this Declaration, an Action Plan and a Vision for this process and we continue to look to Aarhus as a model.

We want to embrace what is the best of Aarhus; an approach that supports the engagement of civil society with their governments; technical work of working groups on critical issues; capacity building of civil society and government institutions. It is critical that we learn from each other if we believe environmental democracy is essential for promoting sustainable development, democracy and a healthy environment around the world. The Governments of Jamaica and Colombia in the Working Group on capacity building note the following areas of priorities which we believe are critical or ripe for support by the Aarhus parties and the Secretariat.
Training on • implementation mechanisms for the development of systematic environmental statistics and data that can be utilized by the public and policy makers to help decision making processes including development of electronic infrastructure or platforms to access environmental information and for the treatment and management of information requests. • Knowledge exchange on public participation at the policies, plans and programmes level and in the implementation of investment projects (before, during and after their development) including the implementation of specific procedures to engage vulnerable communities • Training and awareness of judges, judicial officers and administrative courts on the expeditious delivery of fair and impartial justice in environmental issues and exchange of cases and successful experiences on access to justice in environmental matters • exchanges on the development and implementation of Pollutant Release Registers for the region. We ask parties and the Secretariat to support the LAC P10 process with such financial and technical support building a bridge between the two regions.

UNEP’s New Access to Information Policy Falls Short of True Transparency

By Devika Jaipuriar (Posted: June 30, 2014)

This article was originally posted on WRI Insights on 23 June, 2014.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released its first-ever access to information policy last week. The pilot policy—which will be revised after its first year—aims to “enhance transparency and openness” in the organization’s work. But despite its noble aspirations, the policy falls far short of providing true transparency.

Why UNEP Needs a Strong Access to Information Policy

UNEP describes itself as “the voice for the environment within the United Nations system … acting as a catalyst, advocate, educator and facilitator to promote the wise use and sustainable development of the global environment.” An access to information policy therefore falls squarely within UNEP’s own mission and could serve as a powerful tool to help the vast number of stakeholders who rely on the organization.

UNEP works on such diverse areas as climate change, disasters and conflicts, ecosystem management, environmental governance, chemicals and waste, as well as energy and resource efficiency. And its reach is huge—the organization has branches in every region of the world and acts as the facilitator of major, global treaties like the Basel Convention, Convention on Biological Diversity, and several others. In theory, UNEP therefore collects an assortment of data and research—much of which could be made publicly available through a strong access to information policy. This information is important not just to academics and researchers, but to government officials, the private sector, and civil society groups who work on ensuring environmental sustainability in decision-making.

4 Areas that Could Be Strengthened

Four areas of the policy in particular are ripe for reform, including:

Innovation

UNEP had an opportunity to act as an outstanding leader in proactively providing relevant, timely, and accurate environmental information and data to the public. While the policy outlines some documents that will be released proactively rather than by individual requests, it includes no obligation on UNEP to collect and disseminate information via its most publicly accessible platform, “UNEP Live.” UNEP also had an opportunity to be innovative in its policy, recognizing the potential of open data and the need to release information in new forms, such as its entire surface and ground water quality data sets over time. Unfortunately, no such innovation is reflected in the current draft.

Grounds of Refusal

Virtually all access to information policies include exemptions, recognizing that some information may cause serious harm if released—such as information that could prejudice or jeopardize national security. But these “grounds of refusal” are typically narrowly defined, only applying to very specific types of information. UNEP’s new policy includes very broad provisions that allow it to deny information requests, essentially defeating the purpose of the policy. One important example is clause 15: “UNEP does not provide access to any documents, memoranda, or other communications which are exchanged with Member States, with other organizations and agencies, where these relate to the exchange of ideas between these groups, or to the deliberative or decision-making process of UNEP, its Member States, or other organizations, agencies or entities.” This language is so broad basic communications which would cause no harm to UNEP’s internal deliberations—such as the planning of a conference—could be exempted.

Independent Appeals Mechanism

UNEP’s policy establishes an appeals mechanism for people whose information requests are denied, with appeals being considered and decided by the UNEP Access to Information Panel. However, the Panel only consists of seven UNEP staff members appointed by the organization’s executive director—there are no non-UNEP members to ensure independence or impartial application of the policy. In contrast, both the World Bank’s and the Asian Development Bank’s access to information panels include an independent appeals mechanism.

Accountability

UNEP’s policy states that the organization does not need to provide a reason for denying someone’s information request. This same is true for appeals, with the policy stating that “The outcome of the review will be communicated to the requestor, and there will be no requirement for providing a detailed explanation of the outcome of the review.” This undermines accountability, as future requestors will have no guidance on how the organization makes its decisions or if decisions are made fairly by competent individuals considering all relevant facts. In contrast, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank make their review decisions public on their websites and provide reasons for the refusal of information requests.

Strengthening UNEP’s Access to Information Policy

UNEP is at a pivotal time in its history. For example, it is currently expanding Governmental membership from 58 member countries to “universal membership” involving participation of all 193 UN member states. This move will seriously broaden the organization’s scope and reach—so there’s no better time for it to improve its transparency.

UNEP took a preliminary step toward transparency last week, but it’s important that the organization use its pilot year to strengthen its access to information policy, consult broadly with civil society, and make space for innovation. It’s time for UNEP to create a policy that reflects the scale of information needed to overcome the great environmental challenges we face in this decade.

It’s Time to Reach Out and Nominate Activists in Your Country to Join TAI!

By Carole Excell (Posted: June 11, 2014)

The Access Initiative network has been in existence for 14 years. We at the Secretariat are very proud of the accomplishments of the network, our partners and friends. The TAI Core Team leadership has made a decision to open up TAI to new organizations and individual members. This is for many reasons including: • to keep renewing our network with fresh views and ideas, • scale our impact at the national and international level • Ensure we do not lose champions when they change jobs, and • Build a more effective, sustainable and action-oriented network.

With the launch of the new membership Rules on May 1, 2014, TAI is now open to receiving the nominations of new champions for access rights, both in your own countries and new countries which currently do not have national lead organizations or chapters. TAI now even has an international members chapter.

It’s simple to nominate someone just post to the tai google group list serve

(a) That you are nominating someone who is not currently a member (b) name of nominee, (c) e-mail contact details of nominee (d) country of nominee and (e) background of the organization or individual provided by the nominator, including examples of recent access related work done by the organization or individual and flagging of any potential conflicts of interest of the nominee with TAI network or goals.

We encourage you to participate and share your ideas about how we can make TAI a stronger and more vibrant network and who you would like to invite to nominate as a new member. We look forward to seeing nominations on the TAI Partners google group.

Thanks, TAI Secretariat

Segundo Encontro Virtual discutirá Acordo Regional sobre Democracia Ambiental e ações no Brasil sobre o tema

By Renato Morgado (Posted: May 21, 2014)

Organizações e cidadãos brasileiros estão convidados para participar do Segundo Encontro Virtual – Democracia Ambiental e Acordo Regional sobre o Tema, que será realizado no dia 28 de maio (quarta-feira), das 10h00 às 11h30.

No encontro serão discutidos o processo de construção de um acordo entre os governos da América Latina e do Caribe para a implementação do Principio 10(sobre o acesso à participação, à informação e à justiça nas questões ambientais) e das ações para que as organizações e cidadãos brasileiros participem mais ativamente desse processo.

O evento iniciará com a apresentação de um breve resumo sobre a construção do acordo e sobre os resuldados do primeiro encontro, realizado no dia 07 de maio (para saber mais acesse o link http://bit.ly/QJIShd).

Na sequencia serão debatidos os últimos avanços do processo formal coordenado pela CEPAL (em especial os resultados da última reunião do grupo de trabalho sobre o conteúdo do acordo e o documento elaborado sobre o tema link) e as propostas elaboradas pela The Access Inititave (TAI).

Por fim, serão debatidas as ações e os próximos passos das organizações e cidadãos brasileiros em relação ao tema, incluindo a proposta da realização de um encontro presencial.

Como Participar do Encontro Virtual?

Basta seguir os passos abaixo:

1-Acesse o link https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/343306962 e digite os seu dados (nome, e-mail, cidade e instituição, se houver)

2-Após confirmar e enviar os seus dados, você terá acesso a um novo link (este link também será enviado ao e-mail que você registrou)

3-No dia 28 (quarta-feira), às 9h45, acesse o novo link que recebeu

4-Realize o download e instale o programa (dura poucos segundos)

5-Após a instação, o programa “Go to Webinar” abrirá no canto superior direito de sua tela e você estará conectado à plataforma do Encontro

O encontro é aberto? Posso ajudar a divulgá-lo? O encontro é aberto a todas as organizações e cidadãos interessados. O apoio na divulgação é muito bem-vindo e pode ser realizado, dentre outras formas, pelo compartilhamento do link desse noticia ou de seu texto.

Para Saber Mais e Participar Entidades e cidadãos interessados em mais informações ou em participar das próximas ações, podem entrar em contato pelos e-mails comunicacao@artigo19.org e renato.morgado@wri.org .

É possível também realizar o cadastro no site da Cepal e participar dos debates e apresentar propostas junto ao processo oficial de discussão do acordo regional. Além disso, o site contém noticias e todos os documentos oficiais do processo. Seguem os links:

Espanhol http://www.eclac.cl/rio20/principio10/default.asp 

Inglês http://www.eclac.cl/rio20/principio10/default.asp?idioma=IN

Gobernanza ambiental: una evaluación del Principio 10 en el Ecuador

Published: 2013

En el plano ambiental, la información y el derecho de acceso a la misma adquieren relevancia no sólo porque esta permite a la población tomar decisiones cotidianas, contribuir a la protección del medio ambiente y fomentar la mejora de las actuaciones ambientales de la industria.

También porque las decisiones del gobierno y de actores privados necesitan fundamentarse en el conocimiento actualizado del estado de los elementos del ambiente y sus implicaciones en los ecosistemas, en la salud humana y en las condiciones de vida de la población.

A raíz de la aprobación de la Constitución del 2008 se estableció un nuevo marco que refuerza y garantiza el cumplimiento de los derechos de acceso a la información, participación ciudadana y justicia ambiental. En este contexto, el CEDA consideró importante realizar un nuevo esfuerzo de investigación que permita obtener evidencia actual sobre el estado de implementación y ejercicio de los derechos de acceso.

Esta investigación busca generar evidencia concreta que permita desarrollar recomendaciones posteriores, acciones y propuestas puntuales que aporten a la retroalimentación de la política nacional y ambiental vigente y en los esfuerzos de creación de capacidades impulsados por el gobierno.

Democracia Ambiental y Desarrollo Sostenible: Hacia un Instrumento Regional sobre Derechos de Acceso

Published: 2014
Hacia un Instrumento Regional sobre Derechos de Acceso

En la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre Desarrollo Sostenible celebrada en junio de 2012, conocida como Río+20, se inició un proceso tendiente a lograr la firma de un instrumento regional en América Latina y el Caribe sobre los derechos de acceso a la información, participación pública y justicia en materia ambiental. Estos derechos se encuentran recogidos en el Principio 10 de la Declaración de Río sobre Desarrollo y Medio Ambiente, y por lo mismo constituyen los elementos fundacionales del desarrollo sostenible. 17 países de la región, representando a más de 500 millones de personas, se encuentran participando del proceso denominado “hacia un instrumento regional para la cabal implementación de los derechos de acceso”. ¿Cómo se origina esta iniciativa? ¿Cuál es la relación entre los derechos de acceso, el desarrollo sostenible y la democracia ambiental? ¿Cuáles han sido los hitos del proceso hasta ahora? ¿Qué se espera en el 2014 y a futuro? Este artículo aborda estas preguntas y analiza el potencial impacto de un instrumento jurídicamente vinculante sobre los derechos de acceso para la democracia ambiental en la región.