Environment & Democracy Initiative: 2007-2008

Background

Democratic participation in environmental policy-making and implementation has become a cornerstone of environmental governance in many countries around the world. At the international level, Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration and the UNECE Aarhus Convention are landmark international agreements which aim at enhancing environmental democracy through strengthening public access to information, participation and access to justice in environmental matters. Recently (and increasingly) new paths of participation have been initiated, including direct interaction between civil society and the private sector. Yet, despite the wide interest in environment and democracy issues, knowledge gaps remain regarding how variations in democratic institutions, procedures and capacities affect environmental performance and justice in consolidated, consolidating and emerging democracies.


Objectives

The UNITAR/Yale Initiative on Environment & Democracy aims at addressing the growing demand for research, teaching and capacity building in the field of democratic environmental governance. It commenced in September 2006 as a project hosted by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy (YCELP) in collaboration with and support provided by the Environmental Governance and Democracy Program of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). Objectives of the Initiative include, inter alia:

• to support research on the relationship between democratic institutions, civil society, market entities and environmental quality, with a focus on empirical data generation;
• to inform development of guidance and support capacity development in government and civil society to enhance effective public participation in environmental decision-making; and
• to facilitate information exchange and networking on key issues of environment and democracy.

2008 Conference on Environmental Governance and Democracy, 10-11 May 2008

The Conference on Environmental Governance and Democracy took place at Yale University, New Haven, USA, from May 10-11, 2008, in the margins of the 16th Session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. The event brought together academic experts and practitioners from governments, inter-governmental organizations, civil society and the private sector. Participants took stock of contemporary research and knowledge gaps at the intersection of institutions, public participation and environmental sustainability. The objective of the Conference was to develop a research program and network to strengthen institutional approaches for effective and context-sensitive public participation in environmental governance. Discussions covered various levels of environmental governance, including international, national, regional, local, and corporate governance. About 160 participants with diverse backgrounds and affiliations participated in the invite-only event.

For further information, please contact:

Achim Halpaap, Manager
UNITAR Environmental Governance and
Democracy Program
Project Director
UNITAR/Yale Environment & Democracy Initiative
Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy
achim.halpaap@unitar.org