What is it?

The Aarhus Convention was created to give ordinary citizens  the right to have a real say in decision making that affects the  environment. When it was signed by the United Nations in the Danish city of Aarhus in June 1998, it signalled  the beginning of a new era in environmental democracy.  On 13th June 2008 in Riga, Latvia, the Aarhus Convention Strategic Plan was adopted ,stating: “The serious environmental, social and economic challenges faced by societies worldwide cannot be addressed by public authorities alone without the involvement and support of a wide range of stakeholders including individual citizens and civil society organisations”

Aarhus consists of three pillars: Access to Information , Public Participation in Decision Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters.

The 1st pillar  Access to Information. This means that anyone has the right to receive environmental information from public authorities and public authorities are obliged to provide the required information in a transparent manner and within tight deadlines( 1 to 2 months depending on the volume or complexity of the information).

The 2nd pillar Public Participitation in Decision Making. This means that you, as a citizen, have a right to participate during preparation and modification of plans and programs relating to the environment and likewise must be given  the opportunity to be involved and participate at the early stage of an Environmental Impact Assessment process where such is required.

The 3rd pillar  Access to Justice. This gives you the right to have access to a review procedure before a court of law in the event of adequate information not being provided or where you wish to challenge the substantive and procedural legality of a decision .Such procedures according to the Convention should be fair, equitable, timely and not prohibitively expensive.

Why is Aarhus important?

Aarhus links environmental rights and human rights, government accountability and environmental protection. It recognises the primary role of citizens in helping achieve sustainable development and was created as an important step towards building societies where citizens can play and are encouraged to play a constructive role in protecting the environment and public health.

Ireland and Aarhus.

Aarhus was signed  10 years ago. Ireland however remains one of very few countries who have not yet ratified it. The Green Party who entered a coalition Government in Ireland in June 2007 have committed to have Aarhus ratified as part of the program for Government.

What can you do about it ?

Talk about it . Don’t underestimate the power of your voice
Keep on citing it at every opportunity.
Lobby your T.Ds, lobby the Government

How can you find out more?

www.unece.org/env/pp : About the Aarhus Convention

www.unece.org/env/pp/documents/cep43e.pdf  :Text of Aarhus Convention

http://www.participate.org/ : The Public Participation Campaign website supporting citizens and non governmental organisations working on issues of the Aarhus Convention.

A Long Romance : Ireland and the Aarhus Convention:
Michael Ewing 

This article explains Ireland’s current position on Aarhus and the EU Directives which were designed to implement two of its three provisions ( published in The Local Planet newspaper. issue 11 Winter 2007.)  Read the article