Description
The Aarhus Convention ensures access to environmental information and provides for citizen's participation in environmental decisions. The experience of the Foundation and other entities suggests wide-ranging issues with national implementation of these provisions. The monitoring and analytical activities proposed in this project are designed to create an overall picture of the challenges to the implementation of the Convention and bridge the gap in public scrutiny over this process. All this information will be compiled in a shadow report on the implementation of the Convention in 2014-2016. Quantitative data will be used while assessing public access to environmental information and public participation in environmental decisions and experts will evaluate the legislative and financial tools for implementing the Convention. Based on this information, the project will make recommendations with respect to the process. Additional pressure on government to take corrective steps will be achieved through advocacy and communications.
Summary of project results
Experiences of individual persons and environmental NGOs (ENGOs) show that in spite of the rights granted by the Aarhus Convention, the access to information on environment is often hampered, as well as the real social participation in decisions influencing natural environment and the access to justice in this field. The situation was not properly presented in government reports on implementation of the Convention, for its functioning was not systemically monitored and the drafts of the government reports were not effectively consulted with the society. The aim of the project was to prepare a social report (Shadow Report) on implementation of the Convention, documenting deficits and difficulties in introducing its provisions in Poland, and to initiate necessary changes. The Shadow Report shows general and systemic ineffectiveness of the functioning of the Convention in Poland. It was based on the analyses performed, including: a survey of 240 municipalities, 16 regional environmental protection directorates (REPD) and state forests, showing ineffectiveness of Public Information Bulletins and environmental data inventories; evaluation of "inadequacy of time framework" for consultations based on data from 100 municipalities and REPD, indicating mechanisms hampering social participation in decisions on environment; gathering ENGO experiences concerning the Convention; evaluation of availability of financing sources for environmental education and support for ENGO activities. The report showed widespread and systemic violations of the requirement of social participation in environmental law-making. Legal expert opinions identify many deficits in transferring Art. 4-9 of the Convention into national law. 15 ENGOs participated in preparing the report, describing their experiences concerning the Convention, and thus also preparing to the future consultations of the government report. Based on quantitative data and analyses, the report is a valuable contribution to evaluation of the implementation of the Convention in Poland. The analyses concerned 2014-2015, but experiences in implementing the Convention and diagnosed deficiencies in introducing its provisions in Poland can be used in preparing the government report on the implementation of the Convention for 2014-2016. The report was forwarded to the ministries of environment, administration, MPs, control institutions, ENGOs. Advocacy activities led to first legal amendments based on the Convention.
Summary of bilateral results