Background

The Task Force on Public Participation in Decision-making was established by the Meeting of the Parties through decision EMP.II/1 ENG FRE RUS adopted at its second extraordinary session (Geneva, April 2010).

The Task Force is working to improve the implementation of the Convention's provisions on public participation, including through sharing expertise and good practices, developing recommendations, strengthening civil society and building capacity for public authorities and other stakeholders.

The Task Force is also working to identify common problems in implementing the Convention's provisions on public participation and make possible solutions available to interested Parties and other stakeholders.

At its fourth session, the Meeting of the Parties adopted a work plan for 2011-2014 for the Task Force.

The Task Force is chaired by Mr. Philip Kearney from Ireland, who previously chaired the Convention's 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.

The second meeting of the Task Force was held on 6-8 June 2012 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

The third meeting of the Task Force was held on 29-30 October 2012 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

The fourth meeting of the Task Force was held in Luxembourg on 12-13 March 2013 at the premises of the European Commission in Luxembourg.

Recommendations on public participation in environmental decision-making

The Task Force is currently developing Recommendations on public participation in environmental decision-making.
The Recommendations are intended as a practical, user-friendly tool to improve the implementation of the Convention's
provisions on public participation in decison-making. While the Recommendations are not intended as an official interpretation of the Convention, it is hoped they will be an invaluable tool through which to share expertise and good practice to assist policymakers, legislators and public authorties in their daily work of implementing the Convention.

The fourth draft of the Recommendations is currently being prepared in the light of the comments received on the third draft before the deadline of 15 April 2013. The third draft, as well as earlier drafts and comments received from governments and stakeholders, is available here. 

Case studies of public participation in environmental decision-making

The Task Force is interested to collect case studies of public participation in environmental decision-making. Selected case studies will,
in due course, be included in an online compendium.

The template for the submission of case studies is available here.