Access to environmental information: A comparative analysis of the Aarhus Convention with Brazilian Legislation

elni Review ◽  
2011 ◽  
pp. 87-95
Author(s):  
Sandra Aline Nascimento da Nóbrega
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
General Public ◽  
Environmental Information ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Brazilian Legislation ◽  
Aarhus Convention ◽  
Actual Effectiveness ◽  
Procedural Rights

In order to get the general public more involved in decisions regarding sustainable economic development, the Brazilian Congress approved a law specifically targeting availability and access to environmental information in 2003. This law was clearly inspired by the principles of 1998 Aarhus Convention which established the procedural rights to access to environmental information, public participation and access to court in environmental matters among European countries. This paper aims to compare the Aarhus Convention – with its innovative nature and open administrative and democratic practices – with applications on access to environmental information in Brazil. It first gives a brief explanation of the Aarhus Convention, followed by an overview of access to environmental information in Brazilian legislation and its recent evolution. The paper compares Brazilian legislation and the Aarhus Convention and identifies which criteria of the Aarhus Convention regarding access to environmental information have already been introduced in Brazilian legislation. In addition, the paper discusses the actual effectiveness of Brazilian Law 10.650/03 through an empirical exercise seeking to estimate how often it has been used to access environmental information.

Using Environmental Information to Engage Public Participation in Decision Making in Coastal Policy Development

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzuette S. Soomai ◽  
Bertrum H. MacDonald ◽  
Peter G. Wells
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
General Public ◽  
Environmental Information ◽  
Main Issue ◽  
Public Communication ◽  
Coastal Policy ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
Grand Public

This paper presents findings of a study of the awareness and use of The 2009 State of Nova Scotia’s Coast Report by specific stakeholder groups and the general public. Communication of the Report to wider audiences was identified as a main issue in increasing public participation in the development of provincial coastal policy.Cet article présente les résultats d’une étude sur le niveau de connaissance et l’utilisation du 2009 State of Nova Scotia’s Coast Report par des groupes d’intervenants précis ainsi que par le grand public. On a identifié la communication du rapport à un vaste auditoire comment étant le principal moyen pour augmenter la participation publique dans le développement d’une politique côtière provinciale. 

Disability in a perspective of generalized trust. Comparative analysis in selected European countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-28
Author(s):  
Tomasz Masłyk
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Social Order ◽  
General Public ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Generalized Trust ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Cultural Pattern ◽  
The Individual

The aim of the article was to present the results of a comparative analysis between levels of generalized trust of people with disabilities in fourteen European countries in the context of the general public. The data used in the analysis came from the European Social Survey 2002–2016. The basis of the analysis was the assumption that generalized trust is a reflection of a certain cultural pattern affecting all of society, which is built on the assessment regarding the quality of the functioning of the state and its institutions. This assessment showed differences not only between individual countries, but also indiacated a distance that separates disabled people from the rest of society. Comparison of results from several countries differing in social and economic development showed coherent and universal dependency patterns. Firstly, countries characterized by a higher level of development showed a higher level of trust in the whole society including people with disabilities. Secondly, regardless of differences in the level of development amongst individual countries, the differences in the level of trust between the general public and of people with disabilities were similar. Thirdly, in most of the countries surveyed, disability at the individual level was not a determinant to the assessment of generalized trust if an influence of sociodemographic characteristics and social order assessment were controlled for.

The Aarhus Convention: A Basis for Reforming the Legislation on Access to Environmental Information in Kazakhstan

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 289-295
Author(s):  
Vadim Ni
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
Environmental Information ◽  
Public Access ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Legal Requirements ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
Economic Commission ◽  
Aarhus Convention

AbstractThis article describes the prerequisites, stages and outcomes of the reform of legislation on public access to environmental information in Kazakhstan, where the Convention of the UN Economic Commission for Europe on Access to Environmental Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention, or Convention)1 has served as a driving force in this process. New approaches and legal requirements on access to environmental information have been embodied in the Environmental Code2 and the new Law on the Procedure for Review of Appeals from Natural and Legal Persons (Law on appeals)3.

The application of information technology and environmental protection

2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 692-709
Author(s):  
Mirjana Drenovak Ivanović
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Information Technology ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Environmental Information ◽  
Public Access ◽  
The Public ◽  
Environmental Decision Making ◽  
Aarhus Convention

The Aarhus Convention became a part of the Serbian legal system through the adoption of the Law on Ratification of the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in May 2009. Although the legislation in Serbia, prior to the ratification of the Aarhus Convention, pointed, to some extent, to the realization of ideas promoted by it, following the ratification, there was the formal possibility of the consistent application of rights stipulated by the Convention. This article analyses the role of information technology (IT) in providing public access to environmental information. There are three basic ways IT may be applied in environmental protection. First, through the use of IT for environmental matters, the public can be informed about the general condition of the environment. In the legal system of Serbia, the Agency for Environmental Protection is obliged to collect environmental information from local government and compile annual reports on the environment that should be presented on the Agency website. This article analyses the information systems of the Serbian Agency for Environmental Protection and the further possibilities of using these. Second, IT can be used as a way of regular communication between government and citizens. In accordance with the principle of transparency, government bodies are obliged to provide an adequate way for the public to have an insight into their work. In addition, the authorized person is responsible for the accuracy of this information and for providing public access within a reasonable timeframe. In this sense, the article analyses the legal framework of e-access to environmental information and the relevant practice of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection. Third, the application of IT in environmental matters can promote public participation in environmental decision-making. If there were a legal framework, the public would be able to participate in procedures, such as environmental impact assessments, by submitting their opinions as e-documents. This article points out the relations between the application of IT and the level of public awareness about the environment, and the impact these relations have on environmental protection. Points for practitioners The article examines whether there is a possibility of using IT as a means of achieving daily communication between government and citizens in matters of the protection, preservation and improvement of the environment in Serbia, how the application of information technology achieves wider public participation in environmental decision-making, and whether the application of IT can eliminate deficiencies in the assessment of environmental impacts which occur in practice. The article provides an overview of environmental legislation in Serbia, which regulates the possibility of using IT in environmental protection and administrative practice.

Transnational Access to Environmental Information

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludwig Krämer
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Environmental Information ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
Aarhus Convention ◽  
Clean Environment ◽  
Scope Of Application ◽  
Procedural Rights ◽  
Right Of Access

AbstractThis paper traces back the efforts, in particular in Europe, to promote transnational legal provisions which grant a right of access to environmental information. Initiatives in the 1970s failed to establish a fundamental right to a clean environment. However, the establishment of fundamental procedural rights of access to information, participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters has been more successful – culminating in the 1998 Aarhus Convention. This paper describes the – until now unsuccessful – attempts to extend the territorial scope of application of the Aarhus Convention to non-European countries and regions, and ultimately the conclusion of a global convention on access to environmental information.

scholarly journals Planning in Luxembourg: innovation and tradition under one umbrella?

Europa XXI ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 57-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Hans ◽  
Kai Böhme
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Spatial Planning ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Planning System ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Socio Economic Development ◽  
Territorial Structure

For quite some while Luxembourg has seen an impressive socio-economic development, rendering spatial planning interesting. Although the spatial planning system in Luxembourg is relatively young, it is used to digest and to distribute the socio-economic growth and push for a more polycentric territorial structure. For this, policy makers have a range of instruments available. These include traditional but also many forward-thinking approaches, which give spatial planning in Luxembourg an innovative edge compared to other European countries. Among these forward-thinking approaches are e.g. national public participation processes, soft territorial cooperation or cross-border planning. Therefore, we argue in this article that supplementary to the traditional elements, spatial planning in Luxembourg has many innovative features, deserving more attention in the international planners’ community. Indeed, policy makers from all around Europe can learn and capitalise from the Luxembourgish experiences.

Public Access to Environmental Information: A Comparative Analysis of Nigerian Legislation with International Best Practice

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-172
Author(s):  
Uzuazo Etemire
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Environmental Information ◽  
Public Access ◽  
Freedom Of Information ◽  
International Environmental Law ◽  
Aarhus Convention

AbstractPublic access to environmental information is a recurring theme in many international environmental law regimes. Nigeria has ratified and committed itself to many such regimes over the years. And yet, until recently, it had a culture of secrecy in (environmental) governance that was sustained by legislation, with the attendant harm to the environment and public well-being. This changed in 2011, with the enactment of the Nigerian Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. This article uniquely assesses the value of the Nigerian FOI Act in relation to what may largely be considered international best practice principles on public access to environmental information as generally reflected in the UNECE’s Aarhus Convention. Even though Nigeria is not a party to it, it is argued that the Convention is still legally and politically relevant to Nigeria. This comparative analysis will reveal areas where the Nigerian FOI Act aligns with, probably goes beyond, but also falls short of best practice, thus leading to some suggestions for improvement in the Act in order to ensure better public access to environmental information.

Financial Systems and economic Development in the Russian Regions: A Comparative Analysis

2015 ◽  
pp. 94-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Krinichansky
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Financial Development ◽  
Public Debt ◽  
Fixed Capital ◽  
Russian Regions ◽  
Growth Mechanisms ◽  
Financial Systems ◽  
Debt Market ◽  
Regions Of Russia

The paper identifies and assesses the closeness of the connection between incremental indicators of the financial development in the regions of Russia with the incremental regional GDP and the investment in fixed capital. It is shown that the positioning of the region as an independent participant of public debt market matters: the regional GDP and investment in fixed capital grow more rapidly in the regions which are regularly borrowing on the sub-federal bonds market. The paper also demonstrates that the poorly developed financial system in some regions have caused the imperfection of the growth mechanisms since the economy is not able to use the financial system’s functions.

Non-standard functions and structures of ministries of finance under economic challenges: A case study of Western governments

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 2448-2471
Author(s):  
S.V. Anureev
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Central Banks ◽  
Economic Recovery ◽  
Budget Process

Subject. This article examines the functions and management structures of central financial bodies and related parliamentary and governmental structures in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, Germany, France and Italy. Objectives. The article aims to identify non-standard functions and structures that go beyond the classical responsibility of finance ministries as a central part of the budget process arising from current economic challenges. Methods. For the study, I used a comparative analysis. Results. The article describes the important new functions of financial authorities and treasuries of Western governments aimed at economic growth and economic recovery. Conclusions. The organizational and management structures and functions of the ministries of finance go far beyond the budget process, overlap with and dominate the functions of central banks and ministries of economic development.

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