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QUNO particpates in Fifth Meeting of the Aarhus Task Force on Public Participation in Decision Making on Environmental Matters

10th March 2015

Fifth Meeting of the Aarhus Task Force on Public Participation credit:Noah Berger Photography

QUNO participated in the fifth meeting of the Aarhus Convention Task Force on Public Participation in Decision-Making on Environmental Matters from 23 to 24 February 2015. Entering into force in December 2001, the Aarhus Convention provides the publics of signatory states with a number of procedural rights with respect to the environment, including the right to access information, the right of participation, and the right to justice. The Fifth Task Force gathered state and civil society representatives at the Palais de Nations with the aim of facilitating discussions about the chief challenges to effective public participation, allowing for the exchange of good practices, and proposing potential methods for the strengthening of public participation in relation to environmental matters. Acknowledging the negative impact of local capacity deficits on public participation, QUNO’s Diane Hendrick gave a presentation, highlighting the value of peacebuilding approaches in increasing environmental awareness and building capacity in order to provide stakeholders with the ability to engage in more meaningful and effective participation in environmental decision-making.

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