Eye on Access for All

Access forThere is considerable support in the Eye on Earth community for "the development of adequate institutional and legislative enabling conditions for furthering the implementation of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration", in particular the recognition that environmental issues are best handled with access to information, citizen engagement and access to remedies and relief. Eye on Access for All complements the other Special Initiatives, in particular the Eye on Global Network of Networks, as it focuses on the creation of an enabling environment to facilitate the maximum usage of the available data and information. It is this furthering of Principle 10 implementation is therefore fundamental to the success of Eye on Earth, and as such is specifically referenced in the Eye on Earth Summit Declaration.

Eye on Access for All aims to facilitate collaboration between UNEP, key civil society networks such as the Access Initiative and Regional Environmental Centres (Europe, Caucasus, Central and Eastern Asia, Russia), Aarhus Centres, the European Eco Forum, national governments and related agencies and other UN entities (e.g. UNECE, UNITAR) and support the global implementation of Principle 10. This is to be achieved through building upon the current and past work of these stakeholders (including the human rights dimensions of Principle 10) and in particular:

(a) Increasing awareness among national governments and civil society about Principle 10 and the benefits of implementation including sharing good practices and experience from the UNECE region and other countries;

(b) Developing training, capacity and skill building programs (including web-based programs) for government officials and civil society members on Principle 10 implementation drawing on experiences from successful countries and models (e.g. the Aarhus Convention);

(c) Developing and deploying assessment tools to facilitate the identification of Principle 10 related legal and implementation gaps and subsequent improvement programme recommendations;

(d) Providing concrete assistance to governments for the development of national legislation in accordance with the Bali Guidelines on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters; and

(e) Developing web-based mechanisms for monitoring and tracking improvements in Principle 10 implementation worldwide.