and Lalanath de SilvaLea Newfarmer Director, TAI & PP10Participa, Chile World Resources Institute

Background: Relevant International Commitments governments sign the Rio Declaration. Principle 10 mandated appropriate access to information, encouragement of public participation, and effective access to judicial proceedings WSSD Plan of Implementation calls on governments to implement Principle 10.

Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration Environmental issues are best handled with participation of all concerned citizens, at the relevant level. At the national level, each individual shall have appropriate access to information concerning the environment that is held by public authorities, including information on hazardous materials and activities in their communities, and the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes. States shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available. Effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy, shall be provided.

Partnership for Principle 10 Platform for Principle 10 activities worldwide PP10 Partners: governments, NGOs and international organizations committed to Principle 10 More than 25 Partners and growing

History of PP10 Launched at WSSD, 2002 First Meeting of Partners in Lisbon, 2003 Second Meeting of Partners in Washington DC, 2004 Third Meeting of Partners in London, 2005

PP10 Partners and Observers Governments 11 Bolivia, Chile, European Commission, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Sweden, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States International Organizations 4 IUCN, UNDP, UNEP, The World Bank National NGOs 20 CEDHA (Argentina), CEBEM-REDESMA, LIDEMA, PRODENA (Bolivia), CODESOSUR, RIDES, Participa (Chile), ECOLEX, Coalicion Acceso, CEDA (Ecuador), EMLA (Hungary), ICEL (Indonesia), IA-Mex (Mexico), OIKOS, INDE (Portugal), EJNF (South Africa), TEI (Thailand), Capacity Global, FIELD (UK), ACODE (Uganda), WRI (USA)

PP10 Strategy Develop strategies to implement Principle 10 at the national level Exchange information, share best practice & produce collective outputs Serve as a mechanism for monitoring and self- evaluation Mobilize financial resources for Principle 10 implementation Promote recognition & implementation of Principle 10 in international agreements, processes & initiatives

PP10 Commitments Shared Commitments Action-Oriented Specific Commitments

PP10 – Collective Products Tracking progress of commitments and on the web Collections of court decisions on access and decisions of national bodies set up to review national compliance Maintaining a Panel of Experts that partners can use when they need assistance

The Access Initiative – Assessing implementation of Principle 10 and working for access rights A global civil society coalition promoting access to information, participation, and justice in national decision-making that affects the environment. 6 organizations jointly lead The Access Initiative and

The Access Initiative’s strategy is to… Develop and continuously refine an indicator-based tool to assess government performance Support civil society teams in an increasing number of countries to conduct assessments Utilize the results of assessments to urge governments to act on assessment results

What does TAI attempt to assess?  Access to information  Public participation  Access to justice  Capacity building Both law and practice related to:

Global Growth of TAI Network

Access Enhancing Action: Chile and Uganda Chile –TAI assessments in 2001 and 2004 –PP10 commitments (government and civil society members) –Increasing government-CSO collaboration and change Uganda –TAI assessments –PP10 commitments –FOIA Passed by Parliament

TAI and PP10 in Chile PARTICIPA and TAI 2000: Member of the Core Team, worked with WRI, ACODE,TEI and EMLA and contributed to the development of the TAI methodology 2001: Pilot national assessment in Chile (PARTICIPA, RIDES, and TERRAM) : National assessment with new coalition members and an Advisory Committee that included CONAMA and CEPAL, among others.

TAI and PP10 in Chile The usefulness of being a part of TAI: Credible assessment of the status of access rights in Chile based on a common, international methodology Results identify specific issues that need to be improved and highlighted the gaps between the legal framework governing access rights and the practice Encourages a coalition-based approach Provides new opportunities to compare the ways that Principle 10 is being implemented, at the regional and international level (ex. Chile- Mexico seminar at CEPAL in 2002, 10 TAI countries in Latin America) Repeat assessments offer concrete measures of progress at the national level Basis for discussion and collaboration with the government.

TAI and PP10 in Chile Partnership for Principle 10 (2002) Three government agencies and two NGOs in Chile announce join PP10 during the World Summit for Sustainable Development (General Secretary of the President, Ministry of International Relations, National Commission for the Environment (CONAMA), PARTICIPA and RIDES) Examples of joint PP10 Chile Commitments : PARTICIPA and RIDES will support and help CONAMA design and create information and participation system for Toxic Release Emission Inventory (TREI) PARTICIPA and RIDES will work with CONAMA to publish a written guide for public officials and hold a series of training workshops PP10 provides an important platform for work at the national level; mutual support and collaboration between civil society and government representatives.

PP10 in Chile : Fullfilling commitments through joint work on specific activities 2005: Project from the Foreign Commonwealth: Access to information workshops in regions, information materials, work with public services New partner : CODESOSUR-SINERGIAS 2006 : Project from FCO: Access to information workshops, environmental info regional maps, work with public services, Declaration of Best Practices New partner : Division of Social Organizations

Benefits of PP10 Platform for civil government and civil society collaboration Commitments keep the access rights on the agenda: both for individual organizations and also for the coalition as a whole Builds capacity and strengthens activities of both govt and civil society Emphasis on measurability and timelines keep the partnership focused on action, activities, and outcomes Global partnership offers possibilities of funding, creates incentives for fullfilling commitments Opens the door to new partners in the region and in the world

TAI and PP10 in Uganda “Effective governance based on transparent decision-making and public access to government decisions is the foundation for fair, legitimate, sustainable economic and development choices.” - Godber Tumushabe, ACODE

TAI and PP10 in Uganda Independent assessments Pilot test national assessment in Uganda (2002) Second national assessment in Uganda (under review) Results of process Government agencies requested NGO help in drafting legislation Government and ACODE (NGO) work together to submit commitments to the Partnership for Principle 10

TAI and PP10 in Uganda  TAI Assessment noted highlighted lack of Freedom of Information Act  Government commitments to PP10 included a commitment to table new Freedom of Information Legislation  Parliament passed FOIA legislation in 2005 Collaboration: Freedom of Information Act

Looking Forward… TAI Global Meeting follow up PP10 3 rd CoW follow up TAI Version 2.0 Expected expansion

For more information… TAI / PP10 Secretariat c/o World Resources Institute 10 G St, NE, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20002

What are the Differences Between TAI & PP10? PP10 Coalitions of NGOs Assessment of progress in implementing Principle 10 Partnership of governments, civil society, and international organizations Implementation of Principle 10 TAI

Shared Commitments Encourage credible and independent assessments Collaborate to improve policies and practice Develop and be accountable for specific commitments All partners commit to

Specific Commitments Improve their own institutional performance Contribute to the improvement of performance by other partners Contribute to the collective work of PP10 Each partner commits to activities and initiatives that

Examples of Specific Commitments National- level NGO Government Agency Donor Agency Produce manuals for the public Conduct repeat assessments Develop a new public information system Train staff about public participation Support implementation in specific countries Provide funding for the Partnership

PP10 Strategy Coordinate peer review and tracking of commitments Mobilize financial resources for assessments and follow-up Facilitate collaboration and learning across countries Support expansion and outreach All designed to support national-level collaboration