12 December 2011, Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The Civil Society Forum (CSF) convened in Abu Dhabi by the United Nations Environment Programme urges effort to push governments, multi-lateral organizations and the private sector for greater access to environmental and societal information to aid enhanced planning, particularly for developing countries.
The Eye on Earth Civil Society Forum (CSF) which precedes the Eye on Earth Summit Abu Dhabi 2011 has concluded its one day deliberations focusing on “Greater Access to Environmental and Societal Information”.
The Forum was attended by 65 participants from 39 countries, who prepared their recommendations to the Eye on Earth Summit on the eve of the Summit’s first day.
Civil society groups such as academic institutions and NGOs are high intensity users of information and data. They play an important role in policy decision-making processes, gathering and disseminating information and frequently act as the primary interface between the general public and public authorities.
The forum reviewed and consolidated inputs on the draft declaration of the Summit to be adopted on 15 December 2011, and discussed a number of themes including Policy, Governance and Institutional Networking; Content and User Needs; Technical Infrastructure; and Capacity Building, Education and Awareness Building.
Ms. Cathrine Armour, Programme Manager of the Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative and Director General of the EoE Summit, opened the forum and said that “there is a strong need for ordinary citizens and their civil society representatives to have much greater and much easier access to environmental information. The Eye on Earth movement is about enhancing the lives and improving the livelihoods of people around the world but especially in developing countries”.
Dr. Svitlana Kravchenko, University of Oregon and Vice-Chair, Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee, also congtributed to the forum and stated that “access to environmental information is a basic human right … the Eye on Earth summit in Abu Dhabi is a big step forward toward the realization of that right on a global basis.”
Mr. Jeremy Wates, Secretary General of the European Environmental Bureau, a prominent lobbying and advocacy group, talked about the importance of an effective legal framework guaranteeing the universal right of public access to environmental information. Wates urged the Forum to support, and to press the Eye on Earth Summit to support, Brazil's proposal for negotiations on a Global Treaty on environmental democracy to be launched at Rio+20.
The participants adopted a set of recommendations towards the Summit and the Rio+20 process. Among others:
- Reaffirming that access to information is a fundamental human right, and called for the establishment of legal instruments, implementation mechanisms (financial, institutional and networking at local, national and regional levels) and appeal mechanisms to support access to justice;
- Empowering communities to understand, use and generate information to enhance citizens’ engagement in environmental management;
- Increasing awareness and advocate for the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a mechanism for getting environmental information across to relevant stakeholders, e.g. social networks/SMS updates on meteorological data for farmers, e.g. radio messaging in disaster situations, digital maps;
- Supporting technology transfer for improving the technical infrastructure for data gathering, analysis and sharing in developing countries, such as open-source cloud service for hosting environmental/spatial data and services.
The Forum also focused on the needs of poor and marginalized groups such as indigenous peoples. The fundamental challenge is making information available to such societies at an affordable cost. Whilst technology will increasingly be used to collect, collate and share information, there are many in the world who must be assisted to find appropriate platforms for their needs. Technology alone cannot substitute for traditional ways of sharing information and in many cases, traditional communications channels need to be employed.
Participants to the Forum further reaffirmed the interest of civil society to be involved in the development and implementation of the Summit Special Initiatives especially the Access4All Initiative which focuses on Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration.
The Forum unanimously agreed that environmental decisions are best made when access to environmental information, participation in decision-making, and access to environmental justice are ensured for all.
Dr. Svitlana Kravchenko closed the Forum saying that:
“Once you open your eyes to the importance of widespread access to environmental information, you can never close them again.”
For more information: www.eyeonearthsummit.org