9. Public participation
This chapter deals with public participation in environmental law and policy. Over recent years, there have been significant moves towards increasing both the quantity and quality of public participation in many different areas of environmental decision-making. The exact nature of public participation can take many forms, but the chapter concentrates on access to information on the environment and public participation in environmental decision-making. It also looks at some of the reasons for giving greater access to environmental information; the types of environmental information that are available; the use of environmental information as a regulatory instrument; international and European initiatives; and past, present, and future approaches to access to environmental information in the UK.