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We,
the UNEP Infoterra representatives meeting in Dublin, Ireland,
from 11 to 14 September 2000,
Recalling
principle 10 of the Rio
Declaration on Environment and Development, which, inter alia,
emphasized the need to facilitate access to environmental
information at the national level,
Also
recalling chapter 40 of Agenda
21, which, inter alia, recommended that UNEP Infoterra should
establish networking and coordinating mechanisms among a wide
variety of actors, particularly the non-governmental and
private sectors, to share information and experience on
sustainable development,
Noting
decision 20/5 of the twentieth session of the Governing Council
of UNEP, which, inter alia, called for the reform of the UNEP
Infoterra network to ensure greater public access to
environmental information,
Welcoming
the initiatives taken by UNEP to establish strategic
partnerships with other international organizations for the
purpose of improving the availability and accessibility of
information on a diverse range of environmental issues,
Welcoming also the United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s 1998 Convention on
Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making
and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (the Århus
Convention) as the most far-reaching and explicit elaboration
of principle 10 of the Rio Declaration, and noting that the
Convention is of global relevance notwithstanding its regional
status,
Noting furthermore that
the Convention offers a legal framework which can support the
objectives of UNEP Infoterra, and conversely, that the
activities of UNEP Infoterra may assist Parties to the
Convention to fulfil their obligations under the Convention,
Welcoming
cooperation with the European Environment Agency’s
Environment Information and Observation Network, e.g. the
inclusion of the Agency’s National Thematic Reference Centres
in UNEP Infoterra consortia,
Recognizing the adoption of the 2000 Inter-American Strategy for the
Promotion of Public Participation in Decision-making for
Sustainable Development by member States of the Organization of
American States as a useful step toward implementing principle
10 of the Rio Declaration in the Americas,
Encouraged by ongoing initiatives in Africa to promote principle 10,
including the Memorandum of Understanding between the Republic
of Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania and the Republic
of Uganda for Cooperation on Environment Management and the
development of a binding environmental protocol by the Southern
African Development Community,
Convinced
that open access to timely, targeted, relevant and reliable
information on environment and environmental health matters is
necessary for the improvement of the environment and the
achievement of sustainable development,
Recognizing
the importance of developing practical mechanisms to facilitate
access to environmental information,
Further
recognizing the enhanced
opportunities to access and distribute data and information on
the rapidly expanding World Wide Web infrastructure, including
the opportunities for non-governmental sectors, given adequate
resources and capacities, to contribute high-quality, validated
information of relevance to the interests and needs of the
wider public,
Observing
the crucial role that
non-governmental organizations have in representing the
interests of civil society, including obtaining and
disseminating information for civil society, particularly in
countries where few citizens have meaningful access to the
wealth of information on the World Wide Web,
Have
agreed that:
1.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), as the
global authority in the field of the environment, should be
given full support in developing a state-of-the art global
environmental Internet portal.
2.
Enhanced networking and coordinating mechanisms,
predominantly in the form of consortia, shall strengthen
partnerships, including with non-governmental organizations and
private bodies, to achieve a sustainable interactive
information system as well as improving international
cooperation.
3.
The national consortia should be established, as
appropriate, through memoranda of understanding between
Governments of participating countries and UNEP, and should be
composed of centres of excellence having the best available
information on priority environmental issues.
4.
Participating Governments should appoint appropriate
focal points for policy and operations with a view to
maintaining optimal relations and delivering high-quality
information and data.
5.
Non-governmental organizations shall be included in
consortia where they are centres of excellence holding key
environmental information or represent the interests of major
user groups.
6.
Each national consortium shall promote its integrated
information service in order to gain recognition in the user
community.
7.
The information services shall provide as a two-way
information flow between UNEP and the Governments of
participating countries, and also among Governments of
participating countries.
8.
National consortia, in coordination with UNEP, shall, as
appropriate, use Web-based technologies and establish protocols
and standards for delivering the integrated information
service.
9.
New models for the horizontal, decentralized collection
and dissemination of information should be considered in order
to provide independent avenues for non-governmental
organizations and other civil society actors to submit and
analyse information on environmental matters of relevance to
local communities.
10.
National focal points will seek feedback and comments
from user groups on the information service that they provide.
11.
The enhanced global network shall be renamed UNEP
Infoterra.
12.
Cooperation between UNEP Infoterra and other relevant
bodies such as the Århus Convention secretariat and the
Convention task forces is of mutual benefit and should be
maintained and strengthened.
13.
States which are not signatories to the Århus
Convention should be encouraged to consider the option of
acceding to the Convention where this fits their particular
circumstances, and to explore the possibility of undertaking
similar initiatives in their own region or subregion, taking
note of the Convention and other relevant instruments such as
the Inter-American Strategy for the Promotion of Public
Participation in Decision-making for Sustainable Development,
as potentially useful reference documents in this context.
14.
The special session of the United Nations General
Assembly marking the tenth anniversary of the Earth Summit
should give consideration to the possibility of developing a
global instrument promoting the application of principle 10 of
the Rio Declaration, with broad involvement of non-governmental
organizations and taking account of the Århus Convention and
other regional initiatives.
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