Environment & Democracy Initiative

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.

2nd Yale/UNITAR Global Conference on Environmental Governance and Democracy

September 17 - 19, 2010 | Yale University, New Haven, USA

Theme of the conference: Strengthening Institutions to Address Climate Change and Fostering a Green Economy

The 2nd Global Conference on Environmental Governance and Democracy will take place at Yale University, New Haven, USA from 17-19 September 2010 in the margins of the United Nations Millennium Development Goal Summit, 20-22 September, New York.

Focusing on the theme of Strengthening Institutions to Address Climate Change and Advance a Green Economy, the event will take stock of and examine the role of institutional structures and decision-making procedures in fostering (or impeding) low carbon and climate resilient development. Papers and discussions will cover various levels of governance (i.e. global, transnational, national, sub-national, and local) as well as specialized governance topics, including governance of climate change science, financing and forestry.

Anticipated outcomes of the conference include a research agenda and enhanced knowledge sharing to better understand the openness, transparency, accountability and effectiveness of institutions engaged in action to address climate change.

Scholars and experts are invited to submit abstracts for proposed papers by 15 May 2010. Those wishing to attend as participants must express an interest by 15 June 2010. For information about the application process, visit the conference website.

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