Task Force on Public Participation in Decision-making
Background
At its second extraordinary session (Geneva, 2010), the Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention established the Task Force on Public Participation in Decision-making and provided it with a mandate to undertake activities related to articles 6, 7 and 8 of the Convention concerning public participation (ECE/MP.PP/2010/2). The Meeting of the Parties had previously established an Expert Group on Public Participation, which was mandated to exchange information and good practices and advise on the terms of reference of a Task Force.
The Task Force will work on improving the implementation of the Convention's provisions on public participation in environmental decision-making, including through sharing expertise and good practices, developing recommendations, strengthening civil society and building capacity for public authorities and other stakeholders. The Task Force will also identify common problems in implementing the Public Participation pillar of the Convention and make possible solutions available to interested Parties.
The Task Force is chaired by Mr. Philip Kearney from Ireland, who previously chaired the Expert Group on Public Participation.
Meetings
The first meeting of the Task Force was held on 25-26 October 2010 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
At its first meeting, the Task Force continued the work of the Expert Group with regard to the exchange of information and good practices. The Task Force also agreed on its work for the period up to the fourth session of the Meeting of the Parties, scheduled to take place in Chisinau from 15-17 June 2011, and developed a proposal for its work plan for the period 2011-2014 (up to the fifth session of the MoP), subject to approval by the Meeting of the Parties at its fourth session.
Documents of the first meeting of the Task Force
| Provisional agenda |
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| Report |
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| Draft template for good practices in public participation in decision-making |
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| Challenges in implementing public participation in decision-making |
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| Draft work plan 2011-2014 |
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| Draft list of recommendations on public participation in decision-making |
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| List of decisions and outcomes of the first meeting |
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| Registration form |
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| List of Participants |
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Presentations delivered at the first meeting of the Task Force
| Mr. I. Trombitsky - Public participation in decision-making from a parliamentary perspective |
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| Mr. I. Trombitsky - Concept resolution on cooperation between parliament and civil society |
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| Mr. I. Trombitsky - Concept law on transparency in decision-making |
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| Mr. M. Ewing - Public participation in environmental decision-making |
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| Mr. J. Foti - Including the poor in decision-making |
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| Ms. P. Hyam - Innovative forms and tools for public participation |
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| Ms. T. Malkova - Innovative approaches for involving the public |
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| Mr. V. Garaba - Building NGO capacity at a national level |
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| Ms. M. Silina - Strengthening civil society in the UNECE region |
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| ANCCLI - Cooperation with the Aarhus and Nuclear initiative |
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| Mr. T. Juszczak - Public participation under the Water and Health Protocol |
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| Mr. N. Bonvoisin - Public participation under the Espoo Convention and SEA Protocol |
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