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Home > About the Aarhus Clearinghouse
- The Aarhus Clearinghouse for Environmental Democracy supports the effective implementation of the Aarhus Convention through the collection, dissemination and exchange of information on laws and good practices relevant to the public's right to
- access environmental information,
- participate in environmental decision-making, and
- achieve justice on environmental matters.
"Although regional in scope, the significance of the Aarhus Convention is global. It is by far the most impressive elaboration of principle 10 of the Rio Declaration, which stresses the need for citizens' participation in environmental issues and for access to information on the environment held by public authorities. As such it is the most ambitious venture in the area of environmental democracy so far undertaken under the auspices of the United Nations."
Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations (1997-2006) |
The Aarhus Clearinghouse also contains information relevant to the implementation of principle 10 of the Rio Declaration at the global, regional and national levels around the world.
The Clearinghouse supports the functioning of the Aarhus Convention's compliance review mechanism. It assists the Compliance Committee of the Convention with access to national implementing legislation and practices.
National Focal Points to the Convention and designated national nodes of the Clearinghouse provide information to the Clearinghouse. Nongovernmental organizations
and other stakeholders may also submit information to the Clearinghouse through their national focal points or through the Aarhus Convention Secretariat.
The Clearinghouse provides information for a wide range of users, including Parties, Signatories and other states; Intergovernmental organizations; NGOs; students and researchers; and the general public. Easy access to information on how countries have implemented the Aarhus Convention can provide an invaluable source of inspiration for other countries that work on developing their own procedures, mechanisms and legislation.
The Aarhus Clearinghouse website was developed for UNECE by UNEP/GRID-Arendal with the support of the Government of Norway. It is managed by the Aarhus Convention Secretariat and hosted by UNEP/GRID-Arendal.
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European Commission | European Commission: first report on application of public participation concerning plans and programmes
European Commission, 2010
United States | National Broadband Plan: Connecting America
The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its National Broadband Plan, setting forth a strategy to expand access to broadband Internet services to millions of people. Chapter 15 of the broadband plan is specifically intended to make it easier for Americans to actively participate in civil society and hold their government accountable. Among its recommendations "to create an open and transparent government", the Plan calls for primary legal documents of the federal government to be free and accessible to the public on digital platforms; Government should make its processes more transparent and conducive to participation by the American people; and all data and information that the government treats as public should be available and easy to locate online in a machine-readable and otherwise accessible format in a timely manner. For data that are actionable or time-sensitive in nature, the Executive Branch should provide individuals a single Web interface to manage e-mail alerts and other electronic communications from the federal government. All responses to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests by Executive Branch and independent agencies should be made available online at www.[agency].gov/foia. The Executive Branch should also revise its Data Quality Act guidence to encourage agencies to apply the Act more consistently and facilitate the re-publishing of government data. With Executive Summary, full report, and list of easily-accessible recommendations.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 2010
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